In silico Prediction of MicroRNAs in Plant Mitochondria

MicroRNAs are endogenous, short (ca. 21 base), non-coding, post transcriptional, regulatory RNA molecules. These microRNAs (miRNAs) are complementary to their target messenger RNAs, and bind principally to its 3' UTR. The conserved nature of miRNAs, and their high sequence complementarities of miRNA and its targets in plants, provides the basis for the easy identification of miRNA and its targets. Presence of miRNA in plant mitochondria is scantily studied. Identification of miRNA targets in plant mitochondria might indicate the involvement of miRNA in mitochondrial gene regulation and nuclear mitochondrial interactions. In this study, we used a computational approach to predict miRNA targets in plant mitochondria. The mitochondrial gene targets identified for miRNAs are located both in mitochondrial and nuclear compartments. This observation points to a fairly early origin of miRNAs. Besides, most of the targets identified can have copies in two compartments and suggest the possibility of miRNA mediated regulation. This study unfurls the possibility of regulating the plant mitochondrial genes by amending the miRNA genes in the nuclear compartment.