dsRNA after immunoprecipitation was purified by TRI Reagent (Sigma) using the manufacturer’s protocol. 20% of dsRNA eluate was dissolved in denaturing solution and run on a 1% agarose gel as described previously11 (link). Subsequently, RNA was transferred to Amersham Hybond-N+ membrane (GE Healthcare Life Sciences) and UV cross-linked. For detection of mitochondrial transcripts probes were labelled with [α-32P] dATP (Hartmann Analytic) using a DECAprime II Kit (Ambion). PCR products corresponding to the following fragments of human mtDNA were used as templates: 254–4469 (Probe 1), 4470–8365 (Probe 2), 8365–12137 (Probe 3), 12091–16024 (Probe 4). Hybridizations were performed in PerfectHyb Plus buffer (Sigma) at 65 °C. Membranes were exposed to PhosphorImager screens (FujiFilm), which were scanned following exposure by a Typhoon FLA 9000 scanner (GE Healthcare). Data were analysed by Multi Gauge v.3.0 software (FujiFilm).