Genetics of Mitochondria

Question 1

3 qualities of mitochondria to know

Answer 1

dynamic

evolved from bacteria

fission and fusion

Question 2

what does it mean to say mitochondria are dynamic?

Answer 2

they interact with other organelles

they are found in places that need a lot of energy – they can move to various areas

found with and fuse with ER membrane– localizes it, gives train track

more tightly fixed in areas that need a lot of energy (localization is determined by ATP) – flagellum in sperm

Question 3

evolution of mitochondria

Answer 3

have single DNA unit that looks like bacterial chromosomal DNA

DNA unit didn’t fuse with bacteria until O2 was available on earth

genome is much smaller than organisms they were derrived from (due to symbiosis with host with nuclear genome, gets rid of what it needs)

Question 4

Fusion

Answer 4

used to increase mitochondria surface area

either to generate more energy or compensate for bad mitochondria

requires A LOT of energy (to fuse 2 membranes)
easy to fuse outer mitochondrial membrane, inner membrane is what takes a lot of the proteins and energy

Question 5

fission

Answer 5

removal of surface area

creates more mitochondria

requires pinching off of membrane

useful to get rid of a bad peace

requires SOME energy and protein

Question 6

dynamin

Answer 6

pinches off membrane during fission

REQ. during fission

Question 7

where is the site of mutation for mitochondria?

Answer 7

tRNA

mitochondria codes for all of its own tRNA so it is the site where mitochondrial diseases occur

over 200

Question 8

True or false:

fission is only in unhealthy cells. fusion is healthy.

Answer 8

FALSE

Fission and fusion BOTH happen in healthy and unhealthy cells

Question 9

trying to increase surface area of mitochondrial membrane…

Answer 9

fusion

to get more surface area for more energy

or taking up what works from a bad cell

Question 10

mitochondrial inheritance

Answer 10

we get our mitochondria from our mother

mother’s curse –DNA from mom can hurt male but not female (X-Linked)

Question 11

mitochondria get ___ as we age

Answer 11

weaker

Question 12

mutations of mitochondria prevent what?

Answer 12

aminoacylation

protein translation is stopped

place where reactive species are generate is where they clean up – so when this goes wrong it can leave a mess

Question 13

diseases associated with aging mitochondria

Answer 13

neuronal diseases

usually combine with genetics to get crappy mitochondria