Lecture 4

Question 1

What is endosymbiosis? Why are mitochondria thought to have arisen from an endosymbiosis?

Question 2

Why are eukaryotes generally insensitive to antibiotics that inhibit bacterial protein synthesis? Why do some prokaryotic protein synthesis inhibitors kill eukaryotic parasitic protozoa?

Question 3

What functions do mitochondria play in the cell? What types of mutations can lead to mitochondrial disease?

Question 4

Describe the journey of a mitochondrial protein encoded in the nuclear genome from gene transcription to arrival of the protein in the organelle.

Question 5

Discuss the unique aspects of the inheritance of mitochondrial genome mutations.

Question 6

What is heteroplasmy?

Question 7

In what tissues do mitochondrial dysfunctions most commonly manifest disease? What is the basis for Sensory Ataxic Neuropathy?

Question 8

Describe the general functions of the cytoskeleton and its 3 key components

Question 9

Discuss the dynamic nature of the actin cytoskeleton, including microfilament polymer assembly and actin “treadmilling.”

Question 10

Describe the structures formed by microfilaments and their roles in cell structure, adhesion, and motility.

Question 11

Discuss the role of cytoskeletal dysfunction in Duchenne muscular dystrophy