Linear plasmids that integrate into mitochondrial DNA in Neurospora

In some field isolates of Neurospora from Hawaii and India, senescence is induced by integration of linear DNA plasmids, kalilo and maranhar, respectively, into mitochondrial (mt) DNA. Although the two plasmids show little homology at the DNA level, both have inverted long terminal repeats, and each potentially encodes a DNA polymerase and a RNA polymerase. Both plasmids generate very long inverted repeats of mtDNA at their ends upon integration into mitochondrial chromosomes. Hence, they appear to integrate by a mechanism that involves pairing of both ends of the plasmid with short stretches of homologous nucleotide sequences in mtDNA. This recombinogenic association apparently generates an origin for an unscheduled round of replication of mtDNA. In the process, the resulting two copies of the mitochondrial chromosome are joined to opposite ends of the plasmid. A model for the senescence-associated accumulation of mtDNAs with plasmid insertion sequences is proposed on the basis of common features that characterize senescence in a variety of filamentous fungi.Key words: Neurospora, senescence, plasmids, mitochondria.