Higher plant mitochondrial genomes exhibit much greater structural complexity compared to most other organisms. Unlike well-characterized metazoan mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication, an understanding of the mechanism(s) and proteins involved in plant mtDNA replication remains unclear. Several plant mtDNA replication proteins, including DNA polymerases, DNA primase/helicase, and accessory proteins have been identified. Mitochondrial dynamics, genome structure, and the complexity of dual-targeted and dual-function proteins that provide at least partial redundancy suggest that plants have a unique model for maintaining and replicating mtDNA when compared to the replication mechanism utilized by most metazoan organisms.
Keywords: MtDNA polymerase; MtDNA replication; Plant mitochondrial genome; Plant mtDNA recombination; Twinkle primase/helicase.
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