Mitochondrial Nucleoid: Shield and Switch of the Mitochondrial Genome

Figure 2

Spatial organization (localization) of mitochondrion and mitochondrial nucleoids. The contour length of circular mtDNA (~16.5 kb) is ~5 μm [47] and requires tight packaging into nucleoids to fit into the tubules of the mitochondrial network comprised of cylinders ~250 nm to ~400 nm in diameter. Nucleoids are organized in higher-ordered assemblies, including respiratory chain supercomplexes [31] and ER-mitochondria complexes (red circle). ER, endoplasmic reticulum; mtDNA, mitochondrial DNA.