PRELI (protein of relevant evolutionary and lymphoid interest) is located within an evolutionarily conserved gene cluster on chromosome 5q34-q35 and encodes a novel mitochondrial protein.

The characterization of mitochondrial proteins is important for the understanding of both normal cellular function and mitochondrial disease. In the present study we identify a novel mitochondrial protein, PRELI (protein of relevant evolutionary and lymphoid interest), that is encoded within the evolutionarily conserved MAD3/PRELI/RAB24 gene cluster located at chromosome 5q34-q35. Mouse Preli is expressed at high levels in all settings analysed; it is co-expressed with Rab24 from a strong bi-directional promoter, and is regulated independently from the S-phase-specific Mad3 gene located at its 3' end. PRELI contains a stand-alone 170 amino acid PRELI/MSF1p' motif at its N-terminus. This domain is found in a variety of proteins from diverse eukaryotes including yeast, Drosophila and mammals, but its function is unknown, and the subcellular location of higher eukaryotic PRELI/MSF1P' proteins has not been determined previously. We show here that PRELI is located in the mitochondria, and by using green-fluorescent-protein fusion proteins we identify a mitochondrial targeting signal at its N-terminus.