| Abstract: | 1. The properties of nascent DNA in the replicative closed circular mitochondrial DNA were examined in the in vitro system of discontinuous replication, using newborn rat liver mitochondria containing endogeneous DNA templates and enzymes. 2. The nascent DNA associated with the closed circular DNA fraction was found to be of two types; one class consisted of the fragments, and the other of the higher molecular-weight DNAs. Data from pulse and chase experiments indicate that the fragments were initially synthesized and subsequently converted into both heavy and light strands of the higher molecular-weight DNAs in an asymmetrical mode. 3. DNA - DNA hybridization experiments revealed that half of the fragments at least were copies of complementary parts of the parental DNA. 4. Based on the present in vitro data, a tentative structure of the replicating region and its expansion are discussed. |
