Isolation of Mitochondrial DNA

As a key cell organelle, with its own semiautonomous genetic system, the mitochondrion and its enclosed DNA (mt DNA) have been the target of a huge amount of research using the methods of molecular biology (see , e.g., refs. 1 ,2 ). Saccharomyces cerevisiae has, of course, been a particular focus of attention (see , e.g., refs. 3 ,4 ), but the mtDNAs of other yeasts are becoming increasingly well known (see , e.g., ref. 5 ).