The complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The currently available yeast mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence is incompl ete, contains many errors and is derived from several polymorphic strains, Here, we report that the mtDNA sequence of the strain used for nuclear geno me sequencing assembles into a circular map of 85779 bp which includes 10 k b of new sequence. We give a list of seven small hypothetical open reading frames (ORFs). Hot spots of point mutations are found in exons near the ins ertion sites of optional mobile group I intron-related sequences. Our data suggest that shuffling of mobile elements plays an important role in the re modelling of the yeast mitochondrial genome. (C) 1998 Federation of Europea n Biochemical Societies.