Fig 3.

Some UL12.5 nuclease-deficient mutants retain the ability to cause mtDNA depletion. (A) HeLa cells were cotransfected with empty vector (pMZS3F), UL12-SPA, UL12.5-SPA, or UL12.5-SPA mutants and a plasmid expressing mOrange to identify transfected cells. PicoGreen staining was used to identify mtDNA foci in live cells using fluorescence microscopy at 48 hpt. Scale bars, 10 μm. (B) The extent of mtDNA depletion was determined by scoring for the presence (not depleted) or absence (depleted) of cytoplasmic PicoGreen staining in >100 randomly selected mOrange-positive cells. Data from three separate experiments were averaged, and standard errors are indicated.