Isolation of the cell-nuclear, mitochondrial, and chloroplast DNA from the ultra-small eukaryote Cyanidioschyzon merolae.

The amounts of cell-nuclear DNA (cl-DNA), mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) and chloroplast DNA (cp-DNA) in Cyanidioschyzon merolae were estimated by using a video-intensified microscope (VIM) system. C. merolae had the smallest amount of cell-nuclear DNA among eukaryotes. The results show that a cell-nucleus, a mitochondrion and a chloroplast contain an average 8.0×10kbp, 1.6×10kbp, and 5.0×10kbp, respectively. To confirm these results, cl-DNA, mt-DNA, and cp-DNA were isolated from cells by density centrifugation on Hoechst 33258/CsCl after density centrifugation on ethidium bromide/CsCl. The amounts of cl-DNA, mt-DNA, and cp-DNA obtained from the bands supported the data shown by the VIM-system. The cytochemical and biochemical characteristics were compared with those of Cyanidium caldarium RK-1 and C. caldarium Forma A. The ρ values of cl-DNA and cp-DNA of C. merolae were about 1.716 and 1.709, respectively. The order in density was different from that of C. caldarium Forma A but very similar to that of C. caldarium RK-1. However, the restriction patterns of cp-DNA in C. merolae differed from those of C. caldarium RK-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]