Sequence-dependent DNA curvature: conformational signal present in the main regulatory region of the rat mitochondrial genome

Theoretical analysis and experimental approaches by gel electrophoresis in retarding conditions allowed us to identify the presence of an intrinsic bending in the D-loop containing region of the rat mitochondrial genome. The curvature was located in the right domain of the sequence analyzed, between the origin of replication of the heavy strand and its promoter. The preliminary evidence of a specific recognition of the bent DNA with mitochondrial matrix proteins suggests a probable role of this DNA conformation in the duplication and/or expression of the mammalian mitochondrial genome.