Compositional compartmentalization of the nuclear genomes of Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma equiperdum

Abstract

High molecular weight DNA preparations from Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma equiperdum were fractionated by preparative centrifugation in a Cs2SO4 density gradient in the presence of BAMD, bis(acetatomercurimethyl)dioxane, a sequence-specific DNA ligand. Analytical centrifugation in CsCl of the DNA fractions so obtained showed that both DNAs had a bimodal distribution with two major peaks banding at 1.702-1.703 and 1.708 g/cm3 and representing 1/3 and 2/3 of total DNA, respectively. Several minor components were also detected. These results indicate that a compositional compartmentalization is not only found in the genome of vertebrates and plants, as already described, but also in those of protozoa such as Trypanosomes.