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Cell biologists identify new organelle present in mammalian cells made of rings of DNA (phys.org)

submitted 2 years ago by GreyShuck@feddit.uk to c/biology@mander.xyz

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Researchers at ETH Zurich recently identified a previously unknown compartment in mammalian cells. They have named it the exclusome. It is made up of DNA rings known as plasmids. The researchers have published details of their discovery in the journal Molecular Biology of the Cell.

The new compartment is in the cell plasma; it is previously uncharacterized in the literature. It is exceptional because eukaryotic cells (cells with nuclei) usually keep most of their DNA in the cell nucleus, where it is organized into chromosomes.

Some of the plasmids that end up in the exclusome originate from outside the cell, while others—known as telomeric rings—come from the capped ends of chromosomes, the telomeres.

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[–] appel@whiskers.bim.boats 1 points 2 years ago

Ah I see, so plasmids can be introduced by bacterial infections. I was wondering otherwise how would they end up in mammalian cells. Although it seems this structure is basically a dump for extra nuclear DNA, whether it's self or other.