Kinetoplast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Kinetoplast is the compact mass of DNA within the single mitochondrion of organisms in the class kinetoplastea. This consists of many copies of the mitochondrial genome and is thought to be tightly bound to the cytoskeleton of the cell.
Trypanosoma brucei, the parisite which causes african trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), is an example of an organism with a kinetoplast. The kinetoplast is easily visible in samples stained with DAPI, a fluorescent DNA stain.
| This molecular and cellular biology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
