Transcripts of the maxicircle kinetoplast DNA of Crithidia oncopelti.

Functional organization of mitochondrial genome (maxicircle kinetoplast DNA (kDNA)) from a flagellate protozoan Crithidia oncopelti was studied by Northern hybridization. A set of overlapping transcripts were mapped in the conserved region of the maxicircle. Several large (3-4 kb) RNAs, overlapping two or more smaller transcripts were found. Four regions produce a couple of RNAs differing in size 50-100 bases. Southern hybridization with several probes from the maxicircle kDNA of Leishmania tarentolae allowed identification of some of the found transcripts as corresponding to NADH dehydrogenase, subunit IV (Nd IV), cytochrome oxidase, subunits I-II (Cox I-II), cytochrome b (Cyt. b), ORF6-genes. Regions, homologous to the probes used are arranged in the same fashion in C. oncopelti kDNA as related genes in L. tarentolae. The divergent region was proved to be poorly transcribed and to produce a set of RNAs from 0.5 to 2.3 kb. Some transcripts of the divergent region seem to hybridize with distant maxicircular fragments. Cross-hybridization of such fragments has shown the absence of the regions of continuous homology.