The inversion of the Control Region in three mitogenomes provides further evidence for an asymmetric model of vertebrate mtDNA replication.

ABSTRACT: Mitochondrial genomes are known to have a strong strand-specific compositional bias that is more pronounced at fourfold redundant sites of mtDNA protein-coding genes. This observation suggests that strand asymmetries, to a large extent, are caused by mutational asymmetric mechanisms. In vertebrate mitogenomes, replication and not transcription seems to play a major role in shaping compositional bias. Hence, one can better understand how mtDNA is replicated--a debated issue--through a detailed picture of mitochondrial genome evolution. Here, we analyzed the compositional bias (AT and GC skews) in protein-coding genes of almost 2,500 complete vertebrate mitogenomes. We were able to identify three fish mitogenomes with inverted AT/GC skew coupled with an inversion of the Control Region. These

SUBMITTER: Fonseca MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4182315 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature