A comparative analysis of mitochondrial ORFans: new clues on their origin and role in species with doubly uniparental inheritance of mitochondria.

ABSTRACT: Despite numerous comparative mitochondrial genomics studies revealing that animal mitochondrial genomes are highly conserved in terms of gene content, supplementary genes are sometimes found, often arising from gene duplication. Mitochondrial ORFans (ORFs having no detectable homology and unknown function) were found in bivalve molluscs with Doubly Uniparental Inheritance (DUI) of mitochondria. In DUI animals, two mitochondrial lineages are present: one transmitted through females (F-type) and the other through males (M-type), each showing a specific and conserved ORF. The analysis of 34 mitochondrial major Unassigned Regions of Musculista senhousia F- and M-mtDNA allowed us to verify the presence of novel mitochondrial ORFs in this species and to compare them with ORFs from other species

SUBMITTER: Milani L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3730352 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature