Search

An open reading frame (orfx) in mitochondria of the higher plants Oenothera berteriana and Arabidopsis thaliana is homologous to orf244 in the mitochondrial genome of Marchantia polymorpha. Homologous sequences are also present in carrot, potato and sugar beet. Profile analysis revealed similarity to two overlapping reading frames in the Escherichia coli genome. Potential translation initiation at conserved ATA (isoleucine) and TTG (leucine) codons is discussed. Transcripts of the open reading frame are altered by RNA editing in Arabidopsis and Oenothera downstream of these codons, suggesting this to be the functionally important region.

In the Arabidopsis thaliana mitochondrial genome the gene coding for subunit 4L of NADH dehydrogenase (nad4L) is located between exon c of the nad5 open reading frame and orf25. The physical proximity of these genes further supports the trans-splicing model for assembly of the nad5 mRNA. Some transcripts comprise the nad4L open reading frame cotranscribed with nad5 exon c and orf25, while other mRNAs contain only nad4L and orf25. Both open reading frames for nad4L and orf25 are edited in several positions with different frequencies.

Several retrotransposon fragments are integrated in the mitochondrial genome of Arabidopsis thaliana. These insertions are derived from all three classes of nuclear retrotransposons, the Tyl/copia, Ty3/gypsy- and non-LTR/LINE-families. Members of the Ty3/gypsy group of elements have not yet been identified in the nuclear genome of Arabidopsis. The varying degrees of similarity with nuclear elements and the dispersed locations of the sequences in the mitochondrial genome suggest numerous independent transfer-insertion events in the evolutionary history of this plant mitochondrial genome. Overall, we estimate remnants of retrotransposons to cover ≥5% of the mitochondrial genome in Arabidopsis.