Jones 5-8 Flashcards
Mitochondrial morphology
Size and shape of mitochondria varies between cell types and with cell cycle stage
Double membrane
Folds of cristae – large surface area
Enlarged mitochondria are often associated with disease state
How do mitochondia exist?
as constantly-evolving networks within the cell cytoplasm rather than totally separate organelles
Continuous fusion and division
How are mitochondria dynamic organelles?
Balance of fusion and fission
Why are mitochondrial dynamics important?
- Mitochondria can’t be made; they have to be inherited in cell divisions
- Accommodating cell growth
- ATP generation in oxygen poor regions of the cell e.g. move mitochondria to different areas of the cell
- Redistribution of mitochondria with cell division
- Genetic complementation – defects in one mitochondria are compensated for by others
- Important for cell survival
What are the three central players of mitochondrial dynamics?
1) Mitofusins
2) OPA1 (M) /Mgm1 (Y)
3) Drp1 (M) /Dnm1 (Y)
GTP-hydrolyzing proteins (GTPases) that belong to the dynamin superfamily
What is the function of mitofusins?
MOM fusion
What is the function of OPA1/Mgm1?
MIM fusion
What is the function of Drp1/Dnm1?
division of outer and inner mitochondrial membranes
What is used in yeast to study mitochondria?
MitoTracker Red: Selectively localises to mitochondria; covalently attaches to membrane proteins
Mito-GFP: Expressed in only one parental strain; under control of Gal1/10 promoter
After cell fusion what happens to the two mitochondrial populations?
Almost complete fusion
What happens in Drosophila melanogaster sperm development?
Mitochondria undergo dramatic reorganisation – essential for fertility
Failure in mitochondrial fusion - infertility
fzo gene identified: encodes the founding member of the conserved mitofusin GTPase family
fzo required for mitofusion and fertilisation
What was conclded from the ts fzo mutants
mitochondrial fusion cannot occur without functional mitofusion
In mutants you get unopposed fission so get individual mitochondria and no networks
What happens if mitochondrial fusion is impaired in mammals?
Knockout mice lacking Mfn1 and/or Mfn2 (mammalian mitofusins) die due to placental defects; cells have fragmented mitochondria
Human neurodegenerative disorder Charcot-MarieTooth disease type 2A results from mutations in human mitofusin Mfn2
What does a mutation in mgm1 cause?
a decrease in fusion events on the MIM
What are the main steps of mitochondrial fusion?
1) Docking/tethering: Mitofusin dimers form
2) GTP hydrolysis: Outer membranes fuse
3) Tethering and fusion: Inner membranes fuse via Mgm1 (yeast), opa1 (mammalian)
What is another potential function of opa1?
maintenance of cristae structure
Why is mitochondrial fission important?
• Important for the remodelling and rearrangement of mitochondrial networks, as well as for enabling mitochondrial segregation during cell division
What is the phenotype of a dnm1 knockout?
large nets of mitochondria due to failed mitochondrial division
How do dnm1/drp1 proteins function?
Dnm1 (yeast)/Drp1 (mammals) protein physically associates with other copies of itself in curved structures on outer surface of mitochondria.
Curved Drp1/Dnm1 structures constrict and pinch off mitochondria using the energy from GTP hydrolysis
What are the main steps of mitochondrial fission?
1) Drp1 recruitment: Fis1 recruits Drp1 to membrane
2) Oligomerization: Multiple Drp1 molecules join together to form scission machine
3) Fission: GTP hydrolysis fuels membrane scission
How is fusion/fission regulated?
Balanced by mitofusin levels
How does regulation occur at many levels/ cellular contexts?
- Protein stability
- Protein cleavage
- Protein conformation
- Changes such as phosphorylation
- Protein localization via association with binding partners
How do mitochondrial fission proteins function?
Phosphorylation
Ubiquitination
E.g. Drp1 activity controlled by phosphorylation at different sites
Through action of PKC/Cyclin B/PKA
How do mitochondrial fusion proteins function?
Proteolysis
Ubiquitination
E.g. ubiquitin-mediated degradation of Fzo1
E.g. proteolytic cleavage of inner membrane dynamins (Opa1/Mgm1)