Kinetoplast

A kinetoplast is a network of circular DNA (called kDNA) inside a mitochondrion that contains many copies of the mitochondrial genome.

[3] A kinetoplast is usually adjacent to the organism's flagellar basal body, suggesting that it is bound to some components of the cytoskeleton.

[4] In trypanosomes, a group of flagellated protozoans, the kinetoplast exists as a dense granule of DNA within the mitochondrion.

Herein lies the only known function of the minicircles - producing guide RNA (gRNA) to decode this encrypted maxicircle information, typically through the insertion or deletion of uridine residues.

[3] Exterior to the kDNA disk but directly adjacent are two complexes of proteins situated 180˚ from each other and are involved in minicircle replication.

The free minicircles are released into a region between the kinetoplast and the mitochondrial membrane called the kinetoflagellar zone (KFZ).

Immediately after replication, each progeny is attached to the kDNA network proximal to the antipodal protein complexes and the gaps are partially repaired.

Trypanosoma cruzi is able to repair nucleotides in its genomic or kinetoplast DNA that have been damaged by reactive oxygen species produced by the parasite's host during infection.