The bacterial Ras-like protein Era has been reported previously to bind 16S rRNA within the 30S ribosomal subunit and to play a crucial role in ribosome assembly. An orthologue of this essential GTPase ERAL1 (Era G-protein-like 1) exists in higher eukaryotes and although its exact molecular function and cellular localization is unknown, its absence has been linked to apoptosis. In the present s...

Mitochondrial biogenesis is controlled by signaling networks that relay information to and from the organelles. However, key mitochondrial factors that mediate such pathways and how they contribute to human disease are not understood fully. Here we demonstrate that the rRNA methyltransferase-related human mitochondrial transcription factors B1 and B2 are key downstream effectors of mitochondria...

Mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequence data were used to examine the taxonomic status of the endemic brown, Auckland Island, and Campbell Island teal. Based on phylogenetic reconstructions using the 12S rRNA data we have found that the Great Barrier Island brown teal, and the Auckland and Campbell Island teals form a discrete clade, to the exclusion of the Fiordland brown teal. All of the Fiordland br...

H earing loss is a very common congenital disorder affecting one in 1000 newborns. More than 50% of deafness cases in the paediatric population have a genetic cause with autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, X-linked, or mitochondrial patterns of inheritance. Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), particularly in the 12S rRNA and tRNA genes, have been found to be one of the most important c...

A premature female Dirofilaria species, subsequently identified as Dirofilaria repens by its morphological features and mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA (12S rRNA) gene sequence, was removed from a subcutaneous nodule of the right temporal region of the head in a Japanese woman 2 years after she noticed swelling of her left calf following an insect sting during a tour to Europe; headache symptom...

In a recent report published in this journal, Y. Qian and M.-X. Guan reported on their studies on interaction of aminoglycosides with human mitochondrial 12S rRNA carrying the A1555G deafness-associated mutation (15). Using RNA oligonucleotides representing the small subunit’s rRNA decoding A site (i.e., the drug binding pocket) and carrying the A1555G mutation, the authors used chemical footpr...

In a recent report published in this journal, Y. Qian and M.-X. Guan reported on their studies on interaction of aminoglycosides with human mitochondrial 12S rRNA carrying the A1555G deafness-associated mutation (15). Using RNA oligonucleotides representing the small subunit’s rRNA decoding A site (i.e., the drug binding pocket) and carrying the A1555G mutation, the authors used chemical footpr...

human mitochondrial dna (mtdna) is 16,569 base pairs (bp) in length, coding for 37 genes. during the course of evolution, nearly all the genes expressing ribosomal proteins and ribosomal rnas (rrna) genes have been transferred from the mitochondria to the nucleus. however, mitochondrial dna contains two ribosomal rnas genes (12s and 16s), which have not yet transferred to the nucleus. these two...