MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA SEQUENCE-ANALYSIS OF THE CYTOCHROME-OXIDASE SUBUNIT-I AND SUBUNIT-II GENES, THE ATPASE9 GENE, THE NADH DEHYDROGENASE ND4L-GENE AND ND5-GENE COMPLEX, AND THE GLUTAMINYL, METHIONYL AND ARGINYL TRANSFER-RNA GENES FROM TRICHOPHYTON-RUBRUM

In this paper, we present the nucleotide sequence of a 5248 bp-long region of the mitochondrial (mt) genome of the dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum. This region which represents about 1/4 of the total mt genome of this species reveals a compact organization of genes including: the glutaminyl tRNA, the methionyl tRNA, the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene, the arginyl tRNA, the mitochondrial version of the ATPase subunit 9 gene, the cytochrome oxidase subunit II gene and a part of the NADH dehydrogenase ND4L and ND5 gene "complex". The main features of the part of mt DNA sequenced is the non-interrupted COXI gene and the presence in the mitochondrial version of the ATPase 9 gene of a small group IA intron. The extensive aminoacid sequence similarity with the equivalent gene in Aspergillus nidulans and Neuropora crassa indicates that this gene codes for a dicyclohexylcarbodiimide binding protein. The conserved arrangement of this portion of the mt genome and the presence of tRNAs between the protein-coding genes are compatible with a large polycistronic transcript processed by the excision of tRNAs, or similar secondary structures, as proposed for other fungal or mammalian mt DNAS.