Expression profiling of Drosophila mitochondrial genes via deep mRNA sequencing

Mitochondria play an essential role in several cellular processes. Nevertheless, very little is known about patterns of gene expression of genes encoded by the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). In this study, we used next-generation sequencing (NGS) for transcription profiling of genes encoded in the mitochondrial genome of Drosophila melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura. The analysis of males and females in both species indicated that the expression pattern was conserved between the two species, but differed significantly between both sexes. Interestingly, mRNA levels were not only different among genes encoded by separate transcription units, but also showed significant differences among genes located in the same transcription unit. Hence, mRNA abundance of genes encoded by mtDNA seems to be heavily modulated by post-transcriptional regulation. Finally, we also identified several transcripts with a noncanonical structure, suggesting that processing of mitochondrial transcripts may be more complex than previously assumed.