Long noncoding RNAs are generated from the mitochondrial genome and regulated by nuclear-encoded proteins

• Published in: RNA (Cambridge) Vol. 17; no. 12; pp. 2085 - 2093
• Main Authors: Rackham, Oliver, Shearwood, Anne-Marie J, Mercer, Tim R, Davies, Stefan M K, Mattick, John S, Filipovska, Aleksandra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 01.12.2011
• Subjects: Base Sequence; Cell Nucleus - genetics; Gene Expression Regulation; Genome, Mitochondrial; HeLa Cells; Humans; Mitochondria - genetics; Mitochondria - metabolism; Mitochondrial Proteins - genetics; Mitochondrial Proteins - metabolism; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Organ Specificity - genetics; Ribonuclease P - genetics; Ribonuclease P - metabolism; RNA Stability; RNA, Untranslated - genetics; RNA, Untranslated - metabolism
• DOI: 10.1261/rna.029405.111
• ISSN: 1355-8382

Human mitochondrial long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have not been described to date. By analysis of deep-sequencing data we have identified three lncRNAs generated from the mitochondrial genome and confirmed their expression by Northern blotting and strand-specific qRT-PCR. We show that the abundance of these lncRNAs is comparable to their complementary mRNAs and that nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins involved in RNA processing regulate their expression. We also identify the 5' and 3' transcript ends of the three lncRNAs and show that mitochondrial RNase P protein 1 (MRPP1) is important for the processing of these transcripts. Finally, we show that mitochondrial lncRNAs form intermolecular duplexes and that their abundance is cell- and tissue-specific, suggesting a functional role in the regulation of mitochondrial gene expression.