Average diameter of nucleoid in mitochondria

Range ~100 nm
Organism Mammalian tissue culture cell
Reference Shokolenko IN, Alexeyev MF. Mitochondrial DNA: A disposable genome? Biochim Biophys Acta. 2015 Sep1852(9):1805-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2015.05.016 p.1806 right column top paragraphPubMed ID26071375
Primary Source [5] Kukat C et al., Super-resolution microscopy reveals that mammalian mitochondrial nucleoids have a uniform size and frequently contain a single copy of mtDNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Aug 16 108(33):13534-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1109263108 [6] Brown TA et al., Superresolution fluorescence imaging of mitochondrial nucleoids reveals their spatial range, limits, and membrane interaction. Mol Cell Biol. 2011 Dec31(24):4994-5010. doi: 10.1128/MCB.05694-11PubMed ID21808029, 22006021
Method Primary source [5] abstract: "[Investigators] have used a combination of stimulated emission depletion microscopy, enabling a resolution well below the diffraction barrier, and molecular biology to study nucleoids in a panel of mammalian tissue culture cells. [They] report that the nucleoids labeled with antibodies against DNA, mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), or incorporated BrdU, have a defined, uniform mean size of ∼100 nm in mammals." Primary source [6] abstract: "Superresolution fluorescence microscopy techniques that exceed the previous limits of imaging within the small and highly compartmentalized mitochondria have been recently developed. [Investigators] have improved and employed both two- and three-dimensional applications of photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM and iPALM, respectively) to visualize the core dimensions and relative locations of mitochondrial nucleoids at an unprecedented resolution."
Comments P.1806 right column top paragraph: "Nucleoids are ovoid structures diverse in size with an average diameter of about 100 nm [primary sources]. They are associated with the mitochondrial inner membrane and are often wrapped around cristae or cristae-like membrane invaginations [primary source 6]. Experimental evidence suggest that there is little, if any, exchange of mtDNA between nucleoids. The packaging density of DNA in mitochondrial nucleoids is greater than that in the E. coli nucleoid or human nucleus, and is comparable to the packaging density in the papillomavirus capsid [ref 7]." Please see primary source [5] p.13538 right column 4th paragraph: "In this study seven different cell lines were analyzed: HeLa (human cervix carcinoma), U2OS (human osteosarcoma), U373 (human glioblastoma astrocytoma), Vero (Cercopithecus aethiops kidney), PtK2 (Potorous tridactylus kidney), MEF (Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts), and primary human skin fibroblasts." Primary source [6] p.4995 right column 2nd paragraph: "The mifepristone-inducible 3T3 Switch (3T3sw) mouse fibroblast cell line was purchased from Invitrogen."
Entered by Uri M
ID 116453