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pubmed:abstractText |
We have determined the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of three chytridiomycete fungi, Monoblepharella15, Harpochytrium94 and Harpochytrium105. Our phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated mitochondrial protein sequences confirms the placement of Mono blepharella15 together with Harpochytrium spp. and Hyaloraphidium curvatum within the taxonomic order Monoblepharidales, with overwhelming support. These four mtDNA sequences encode the standard fungal mitochondrial gene complement and, like certain other chytridiomycete fungi, encode a reduced complement of 7-9 tRNAs, some of which require 5'-tRNA editing to be functional. Highly conserved sequence elements were identified upstream of almost all protein-coding genes in the mtDNAs of Monoblepharella15 and both Harpochytrium species. Finally, a guanosine residue is conserved upstream of the predicted ATG or GTG start codons of almost every protein-coding gene in these genomes. The appearance of this G residue correlates with the presence of a non-canonical cytosine residue at position 37 in the anticodon loop of the mitochondrial initiator tRNAs. Based on the unorthodox features in these four genomes, we propose that a 4 bp interaction between the CAUC anticodon of these tRNAs and GAUG/GGUG codons is involved in translation initiation in monoblepharidalean mitochondria. Intriguingly, a similar interaction may also be involved in mitochondrial translation initiation in the sea anemone Metridium senile.
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pubmed:affiliation |
Program in Evolutionary Biology, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Département de Biochimie, Université de Montréal, 2900 Boulevard Edouard-Montpetit, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada.
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