scholarly journals Determinism and contingencies shaped the evolution of mitochondrial protein import

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. e2017774118
Author(s):  
Samuel Rout ◽  
Silke Oeljeklaus ◽  
Abhijith Makki ◽  
Jan Tachezy ◽  
Bettina Warscheid ◽  
...  

Mitochondrial protein import requires outer membrane receptors that evolved independently in different lineages. Here we used quantitative proteomics and in vitro binding assays to investigate the substrate preferences of ATOM46 and ATOM69, the two mitochondrial import receptors of Trypanosoma brucei. The results show that ATOM46 prefers presequence-containing, hydrophilic proteins that lack transmembrane domains (TMDs), whereas ATOM69 prefers presequence-lacking, hydrophobic substrates that have TMDs. Thus, the ATOM46/yeast Tom20 and the ATOM69/yeast Tom70 pairs have similar substrate preferences. However, ATOM46 mainly uses electrostatic, and Tom20 hydrophobic, interactions for substrate binding. In vivo replacement of T. brucei ATOM46 by yeast Tom20 did not restore import. However, replacement of ATOM69 by the recently discovered Tom36 receptor of Trichomonas hydrogenosomes, while not allowing for growth, restored import of a large subset of trypanosomal proteins that lack TMDs. Thus, even though ATOM69 and Tom36 share the same domain structure and topology, they have different substrate preferences. The study establishes complementation experiments, combined with quantitative proteomics, as a highly versatile and sensitive method to compare in vivo preferences of protein import receptors. Moreover, it illustrates the role determinism and contingencies played in the evolution of mitochondrial protein import receptors.

2016 ◽  
Vol 397 (11) ◽  
pp. 1097-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian P. Straub ◽  
Sebastian B. Stiller ◽  
Nils Wiedemann ◽  
Nikolaus Pfanner

Abstract Mitochondria contain elaborate machineries for the import of precursor proteins from the cytosol. The translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane (TOM) performs the initial import of precursor proteins and transfers the precursors to downstream translocases, including the presequence translocase and the carrier translocase of the inner membrane, the mitochondrial import and assembly machinery of the intermembrane space, and the sorting and assembly machinery of the outer membrane. Although the protein translocases can function as separate entities in vitro, recent studies revealed a close and dynamic cooperation of the protein import machineries to facilitate efficient transfer of precursor proteins in vivo. In addition, protein translocases were found to transiently interact with distinct machineries that function in the respiratory chain or in the maintenance of mitochondrial membrane architecture. Mitochondrial protein import is embedded in a regulatory network that ensures protein biogenesis, membrane dynamics, bioenergetic activity and quality control.


2006 ◽  
Vol 174 (5) ◽  
pp. 631-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasushi Tamura ◽  
Yoshihiro Harada ◽  
Koji Yamano ◽  
Kazuaki Watanabe ◽  
Daigo Ishikawa ◽  
...  

Newly synthesized mitochondrial proteins are imported into mitochondria with the aid of protein translocator complexes in the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes. We report the identification of yeast Tam41, a new member of mitochondrial protein translocator systems. Tam41 is a peripheral inner mitochondrial membrane protein facing the matrix. Disruption of the TAM41 gene led to temperature-sensitive growth of yeast cells and resulted in defects in protein import via the TIM23 translocator complex at elevated temperature both in vivo and in vitro. Although Tam41 is not a constituent of the TIM23 complex, depletion of Tam41 led to a decreased molecular size of the TIM23 complex and partial aggregation of Pam18 and -16. Import of Pam16 into mitochondria without Tam41 was retarded, and the imported Pam16 formed aggregates in vitro. These results suggest that Tam41 facilitates mitochondrial protein import by maintaining the functional integrity of the TIM23 protein translocator complex from the matrix side of the inner membrane.


2020 ◽  
Vol 401 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 663-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Schneider

AbstractThe evolution of mitochondrial protein import and the systems that mediate it marks the boundary between the endosymbiotic ancestor of mitochondria and a true organelle that is under the control of the nucleus. Protein import has been studied in great detail in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. More recently, it has also been extensively investigated in the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma brucei, making it arguably the second best studied system. A comparative analysis of the protein import complexes of yeast and trypanosomes is provided. Together with data from other systems, this allows to reconstruct the ancestral features of import complexes that were present in the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) and to identify which subunits were added later in evolution. How these data can be translated into plausible scenarios is discussed, providing insights into the evolution of (i) outer membrane protein import receptors, (ii) proteins involved in biogenesis of α-helically anchored outer membrane proteins, and (iii) of the intermembrane space import and assembly system. Finally, it is shown that the unusual presequence-associated import motor of trypanosomes suggests a scenario of how the two ancestral inner membrane protein translocases present in LECA evolved into the single bifunctional one found in extant trypanosomes.


2004 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Hood ◽  
Anna-Maria Joseph

The protein import process of mitochondria is vital for the assembly of the hundreds of nuclear-derived proteins into an expanding organelle reticulum. Most of our knowledge of this complex multisubunit network comes from studies of yeast and fungal systems, with little information known about the protein import process in mammalian cells, particularly skeletal muscle. However, growing evidence indicates that the protein import machinery can respond to changes in the energy status of the cell. In particular, contractile activity, a powerful inducer of mitochondrial biogenesis, has been shown to alter the stoichiometry of the protein import apparatus via changes in several protein import machinery components. These adaptations include the induction of cytosolic molecular chaperones that transport precursors to the matrix, the up-regulation of outer membrane import receptors, and the increase in matrix chaperonins that facilitate the import and proper folding of the protein for subsequent compartmentation in the matrix or inner membrane. The physiological importance of these changes is an increased capacity for import into the organelle at any given precursor concentration. Defects in the protein import machinery components have been associated with mitochondrial disorders. Thus, contractile activity may serve as a possible mechanism for up-regulation of mitochondrial protein import and compensation for mitochondrial phenotype alterations observed in diseased muscle.


Author(s):  
Gino L. Turra ◽  
Linda Liedgens ◽  
Frederik Sommer ◽  
Luzia Schneider ◽  
David Zimmer ◽  
...  

The discovery of the redox proteins Mia40/CHCHD4 and Erv1/ALR, as well as the elucidation of their relevance for oxidative protein folding in the mitochondrial intermembrane space of yeast and mammals, founded a new research topic in redox biology and mitochondrial protein import. The lack of Mia40/CHCHD4 in protist lineages raises fundamental and controversial questions regarding the conservation and evolution of this essential pathway.


2020 ◽  
Vol 401 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 645-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Clara Avendaño-Monsalve ◽  
José Carlos Ponce-Rojas ◽  
Soledad Funes

AbstractMitochondrial protein import is one of the key processes during mitochondrial biogenesis that involves a series of events necessary for recognition and delivery of nucleus-encoded/cytosol-synthesized mitochondrial proteins into the organelle. The past research efforts have mainly unraveled how membrane translocases ensure the correct protein sorting within the different mitochondrial subcompartments. However, early steps of recognition and delivery remain relatively uncharacterized. In this review, we discuss our current understanding about the signals on mitochondrial proteins, as well as in the mRNAs encoding them, which with the help of cytosolic chaperones and membrane receptors support protein targeting to the organelle in order to avoid improper localization. In addition, we discuss recent findings that illustrate how mistargeting of mitochondrial proteins triggers stress responses, aiming to restore cellular homeostasis.


1993 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4115-4123 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ramage ◽  
T. Junne ◽  
K. Hahne ◽  
T. Lithgow ◽  
G. Schatz

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. eaax1978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Oleinik ◽  
Jisun Kim ◽  
Braden M. Roth ◽  
Shanmugam Panneer Selvam ◽  
Monika Gooz ◽  
...  

How lipid metabolism is regulated at the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) for transducing stress signaling remains largely unknown. We show here that this process is controlled by trafficking of ceramide synthase 1 (CerS1) from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the OMM by a previously uncharacterized p17, which is now renamed protein that mediates ER-mitochondria trafficking (PERMIT). Data revealed that p17/PERMIT associates with newly translated CerS1 on the ER surface to mediate its trafficking to the OMM. Cellular stress induces Drp1 nitrosylation/activation, releasing p17/PERMIT to retrieve CerS1 for its OMM trafficking, resulting in mitochondrial ceramide generation, mitophagy and cell death. In vivo, CRISPR-Cas9–dependent genetic ablation of p17/PERMIT prevents acute stress-mediated CerS1 trafficking to OMM, attenuating mitophagy in p17/PERMIT−/− mice, compared to controls, in various metabolically active tissues, including brain, muscle, and pancreas. Thus, these data have implications in diseases associated with accumulation of damaged mitochondria such as cancer and/or neurodegeneration.


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