Mitochondrial DNA of Marchantia polymorpha as a Single Circular Form with no Incorporation of Foreign DNA

Abstract

A cosmid library and physical maps of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from a liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha, were constructed using the cosmid clones. Electrophoresis profile and the physical maps indicated that the liverwort mtDNA was approximately 183kb long, the smallest among plant mtDNAs, and that it consisted of a single circular molecule. Southern hybridization analysis showed that genes typical to the mitochondrial genome existed in a single copy, and also that there was no incorporation of chloroplast DNA fragments into the mitochondrial genome.