The molecular complexity of Mu and Pi symbiont DNA of Paramecium aurelia

Abstract

The molecular size of mu and pi symbionts of Parameciumaurelia has been calculated from renaturation kinetic data. Observed values were 0.78 x 10(9) daltons for mu particle DNA and 0.81 x 10(9) daltons for pi particle DNA. Estimates of analytical complexity were 4.45 x 10(9) and 5.05 x 10(9) daltons respectively. Based on these data, mu and pi symbionts appear to possess multiple genomes and contain a minimum of 5 or 6 copies of each DNA sequence.