Editorial: Role of mitochondria-associated non-coding RNAs in intracellular communication

Editorial on the Research Topic Role of mitochondria-associated non-coding RNAs in intracellular communication Once considered solely as the powerhouse of eukaryotic cells, the mitochondrion is now known to be a hub for several other important cellular processes such as apoptosis, calcium homeostasis, regulation of innate immunity, amino acid metabolism, stem cell regulation and the cellular regulome, among others (Murphy and Steenbergen, 2011). Some of these functions are accounted for by the minimal circular 16,569-bp genome of human mitochondria (mtDNA), which contains the genes for 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs and 13 polypeptides (Chen et al., 2009). However, most mitochondrial proteins are nuclearencoded and imported from the cytosol (Neupert and Herrmann, 2007). Lately, there is increasing evidence of bidirectional communication between mitochondria and the nucleus, coordinating multiple cellular functions (Soledad et al., 2019). This connection, nonetheless, is not limited to mitochondrial import of nuclear-encoded proteins and export of metabolites, but has also been shown to involve noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) connecting both cellular compartments (