Abstract
We isolated from a HeLa genomic library 38 plaques that hybridized to total mitochondrial (mt) DNA isolated from human placenta. One clone (HLmt-17·8) hybridized to a 740 base-pair (12 S ribosomal RNA gene and displacement loop) mtDNA probe and was characterized in more detail. Within its 17·8 × 10 3 base-pair insert a 1·6 × 10 3 base-pair mtDNA fragment was similar to three non-sequential coding genes of human mtDNA, including a part of the 12 S ribosomal RNA (684–971), the cytochrome oxidase I (6553–7302), and two NADH dehydrogenase [ ND4 L ND4 ] (10,606–11,159). The similarity to human mtDNA sequences was 92·0%, 92·3% and 92·4%, respectively, the highest degree of similarity to human mtDNA so far reported. This is also the first report of several adjacent mtDNA-like sequences in cellular chromosomes. The mtDNA-like sequences in HLmt-17·8 was found in the DNAs of human placenta, freshly isolated human leukocytes, foreskin and several human cell lines; but it was not present in other primates or lower organisms. The HLmt-17.8 mtDNA-like region appears to be a pseudogene that transferred into the nucleus in humans more recently than nine million years ago.
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