Pre-microRNA and Mature microRNA in Human Mitochondria

Background: Because of the central functions of the mitochondria in providing metabolic energy and initiating apoptosis on one hand and the role that microRNA (miRNA) play in gene expression, we hypothesized that some miRNA could be present in the mitochondria for post-transcriptomic regulation by RNA interference. We intend to identify miRNA localized in the mitochondria isolated from human skeletal primary muscular cells.[br/] Methodology/Principal Findings: To investigate the potential origin of mitochondrial miRNA, we in-silico searched for microRNA candidates in the mtDNA. Twenty five human pre-miRNA and 33 miRNA aligments (E-value35) for the smallest RNA input concentration and 204 miRNA for the maximum RNA input concentration. In silico analysis predicted 80 putative miRNA target sites in the mitochondrial genome (E-value