Molecular Switches in the Cellular Power Plants
Freiburg Researchers Discover a New Basic Principle of the Architecture of Mitochondria
Ralf Zerbes
The protein machine studied by the scientists is essential for maintaining the typical architecture inside the mitochondria and have thus received the name “Mitochondrial Inner Membrane Organizing System” (MINOS). In their latest study, the Freiburg researchers and their colleagues in Graz, Austria, Warsaw, Poland, and Groningen, Netherlands, demonstrate that the role of MINOS in creating the mitochondrial architecture is clearly more extensive than previously assumed. In a joint research effort between the Collaborative Research Center 746 and the Cluster of Excellence Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS), Dr. Maria Bohnert, Lena-Sophie Wenz, and Ralf Zerbes found out how MINOS connects the distinct membrane systems of the mitochondria with each other.
The membrane complexes SAM and TOM play a key role in this process. They use tunnel-shaped structures to transport proteins into the mitochondrion and then embed them in the outer membrane. In their latest study, the Freiburg scientists demonstrate that the MINOS component Fcj1 of the Mitofilin protein family participates directly in this process, which is essential for the survival of the cells. The inactivation of Fcj1 inhibits the integration of proteins into the mitochondrial outer membrane. These findings show how molecular switches affecting the connectivity of mitochondrial membranes control the assembly and function of the cellular power plants. These newly gained insights improve our understanding of the basic principles of the architecture of mitochondria. In the future they could help scientists to understand and influence mechanisms of diseases that involve changes in the fine structure of mitochondria.
Original publication
Bohnert M, Wenz LS, Zerbes RM, Horvath SE, Stroud DA, von der Malsburg K, Müller JM, Oeljeklaus S, et al.: "Role of MINOS in protein biogenesis of the mitochondrial outer membrane"; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2012.
Original publication
Bohnert M, Wenz LS, Zerbes RM, Horvath SE, Stroud DA, von der Malsburg K, Müller JM, Oeljeklaus S, et al.: "Role of MINOS in protein biogenesis of the mitochondrial outer membrane"; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2012.
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