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Expression and Purification of Mitochondrial RNA Polymerase and Transcription Factor A from Drosophila melanogaster

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Mitochondrial DNA

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1351))

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Abstract

Mitochondrial gene expression is essential in all organisms. Our understanding of mitochondrial transcription on a biochemical level has been limited by the inability to purify the individual protein components involved in mitochondrial gene expression. Recently, new systems have been identified that permit purification of these proteins from bacteria. However, the generalizability of these systems is not clear. Here, we have applied the technology from the Cameron lab to express and purify mitochondrial RNA polymerase and transcription factor A from Drosophila melanogaster. We show that the use of SUMO system to produce SUMO fusion proteins in bacteria is effective not only for the human and mouse proteins, but also for the fly proteins. The application of this system to produce the mitochondrial proteins from other organisms should permit detailed understanding of mitochondrial transcription from any organism.

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Acknowledgments

L.S.K. was supported by the NIH grant 45295 and a Finland Distinguished Professor Programme grant from the Academy of Finland. T.S.S. was supported by the Academy of Finland.

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Correspondence to Craig E. Cameron .

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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Gajewski, J.P., Arnold, J.J., Salminen, T.S., Kaguni, L.S., Cameron, C.E. (2016). Expression and Purification of Mitochondrial RNA Polymerase and Transcription Factor A from Drosophila melanogaster . In: McKenzie, M. (eds) Mitochondrial DNA. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1351. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3040-1_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3040-1_15

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-3039-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-3040-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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