Sedimentation properties of yeast nuclear and mitochondrial DNA

Abstract The sedimentation behavior of high molecular weight nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been examined and the molecular weights estimated based on a linear, double-stranded configuration. Nuclear DNA molecules exhibit a narrow range of molecular weights of the order 400 × 10 6 to 600 × 10 6 daltons, and chromosome VIII of a disomic strain has been tentatively assigned a molecular weight of 400 × 10 6 daltons. Several sedimenting DNA components can be distinguished from isolated yeast mitochondria: a major species corresponding to a molecular weight of 46 × 10 6 daltons, as well as others with molecular weights of 120 × 10 6 , 55 × 10 6 and 25 × 10 6 daltons.