A repeated chromosomal DNA sequence is amplified as a circular extrachromosomal molecule in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

The plasmid pE10 is a pBR322-derived plasmid carrying a 4.5 kb rice (Oryza sativa L.) repeated DNA sequence. The cloned sequence has been shown to be amplified in cultured rice cells. The analysis of practically intact chromosomal rice DNA molecules by pulsed field gel electrophoresis has now shown that the amplification is associated with the appearance of extrachromosomal molecules. In fact, pE10 hybridizes exclusively with unfractionated DNA from leaf protoplasts, while it recognizes predominantly an extrachromosomal DNA molecule (ECD) of about 45 kb and its multiples in the case of protoplasts from cultured cells. Insensitivity to the action of the exonuclease Bal31 suggests that the molecule is circular. Analysis of restriction endonuclease products with both standard horizontal and pulsed field gel electrophoresis suggest that the extrachromosomal DNA, and its chromosomal counterpart, is composed of tandemly repeated units of about 7 kb. Thus, the smaller extrachromosomal circle should contain 6–7 repeats, while the sequence cloned in pE10 is a subset of this repeat. The extrachromosomal DNA represents about 1 % of total rice DNA and its level of amplification is not affected by the different phases of growth in culture.