scholarly journals A novel mitochondrial outer membrane protein, MOMA-1, that affects cristae morphology in Caenorhabditis elegans

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 831-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian P. Head ◽  
Miren Zulaika ◽  
Sergey Ryazantsev ◽  
Alexander M. van der Bliek

 Three proteins with similar effects on mitochondrial morphology were identified in an RNA interference (RNAi) screen for mitochondrial abnormalities in Caenorhabditis elegans. One of these is the novel mitochondrial outer membrane protein MOMA-1. The second is the CHCHD3 homologue, CHCH-3, a small intermembrane space protein that may act as a chaperone. The third is a mitofilin homologue, IMMT-1. Mitofilins are inner membrane proteins that control the shapes of cristae. RNAi or mutations in each of these genes change the relatively constant diameters of mitochondria into highly variable diameters, ranging from thin tubes to localized swellings. Neither growth nor brood size of the moma-1, chch-3, or immt-1 single mutants is affected, suggesting that their metabolic functions are normal. However, growth of moma-1 or immt-1 mutants on chch-3(RNAi) leads to withered gonads, a lack of mitochondrial staining, and a dramatic reduction in fecundity, while moma-1; immt-1 double mutants are indistinguishable from single mutants. Mutations in moma-1 and immt-1 also have similar effects on cristae morphology. We conclude that MOMA-1 and IMMT-1 act in the same pathway. It is likely that the observed effects on mitochondrial diameter are an indirect effect of disrupting cristae morphology.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junhui Tang ◽  
Kuan Zhang ◽  
Jun Dong ◽  
Chaojun Yan ◽  
Shi Chen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMitochondrial cristae are critical for efficient oxidative phosphorylation, however, how cristae architecture is precisely organized remains largely unknown. Here, we discovered that Mic19, a core component of MICOS (mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system) complex, can be cleaved at N-terminal by mitochondrial protease OMA1. Mic19 directly interacts with mitochondrial outer-membrane protein Sam50 (the key subunit of SAM complex) and inner-membrane protein Mic60 (the key component of MICOS complex) to form Sam50-Mic19-Mic60 axis, which dominantly connects SAM and MICOS complexes to assemble MIB (mitochondrial intermembrane space bridging) supercomplex for mediating mitochondrial outer- and inner-membrane contact. OMA1-mediated Mic19 cleavage causes Sam50-Mic19-Mic60 axis disruption, which separates SAM and MICOS and leads to MIB disassembly. Disrupted Sam50-Mic19-Mic60 axis, even in the presence of SAM and MICOS complexes, causes the abnormal mitochondrial morphology, loss of mitochondrial cristae junctions, abnormal cristae distribution and reduced ATP production. Importantly, Sam50 displays punctate distribution at mitochondrial outer membrane, and acts as an anchoring point to guide the formation of mitochondrial cristae junctions. Therefore, we propose a model that Sam50-Mic19-Mic60 axis mediated SAM-MICOS complexes integration determines mitochondrial cristae architecture.


2001 ◽  
Vol 152 (6) ◽  
pp. 1123-1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiromi Sesaki ◽  
Robert E. Jensen

Membrane fusion plays an important role in controlling the shape, number, and distribution of mitochondria. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the outer membrane protein Fzo1p has been shown to mediate mitochondrial fusion. Using a novel genetic screen, we have isolated new mutants defective in the fusion of their mitochondria. One of these mutants, ugo1, shows several similarities to fzo1 mutants. ugo1 cells contain numerous mitochondrial fragments instead of the few long, tubular organelles seen in wild-type cells. ugo1 mutants lose mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). In zygotes formed by mating two ugo1 cells, mitochondria do not fuse and mix their matrix contents. Fragmentation of mitochondria and loss of mtDNA in ugo1 mutants are rescued by disrupting DNM1, a gene required for mitochondrial division. We find that UGO1 encodes a 58-kD protein located in the mitochondrial outer membrane. Ugo1p appears to contain a single transmembrane segment, with its NH2 terminus facing the cytosol and its COOH terminus in the intermembrane space. Our results suggest that Ugo1p is a new outer membrane component of the mitochondrial fusion machinery.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinfang Shen ◽  
Koji Yamano ◽  
Brian P. Head ◽  
Sumihiro Kawajiri ◽  
Jesmine T. M. Cheung ◽  
...  

Mitochondrial fission is mediated by the dynamin-related protein Drp1 in metazoans. Drp1 is recruited from the cytosol to mitochondria by the mitochondrial outer membrane protein Mff. A second mitochondrial outer membrane protein, named Fis1, was previously proposed as recruitment factor, but Fis1−/− cells have mild or no mitochondrial fission defects. Here we show that Fis1 is nevertheless part of the mitochondrial fission complex in metazoan cells. During the fission cycle, Drp1 first binds to Mff on the surface of mitochondria, followed by entry into a complex that includes Fis1 and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteins at the ER–mitochondrial interface. Mutations in Fis1 do not normally affect fission, but they can disrupt downstream degradation events when specific mitochondrial toxins are used to induce fission. The disruptions caused by mutations in Fis1 lead to an accumulation of large LC3 aggregates. We conclude that Fis1 can act in sequence with Mff at the ER–mitochondrial interface to couple stress-induced mitochondrial fission with downstream degradation processes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 194 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dražen Papić ◽  
Katrin Krumpe ◽  
Jovana Dukanovic ◽  
Kai S. Dimmer ◽  
Doron Rapaport

The mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) harbors several multispan proteins that execute various functions. Despite their importance, the mechanisms by which these proteins are recognized and inserted into the outer membrane remain largely unclear. In this paper, we address this issue using yeast mitochondria and the multispan protein Ugo1. Using a specific insertion assay and analysis by native gel electrophoresis, we show that the import receptor Tom70, but not its partner Tom20, is involved in the initial recognition of the Ugo1 precursor. Surprisingly, the import pore formed by the translocase of the outer membrane complex appears not to be required for the insertion process. Conversely, the multifunctional outer membrane protein mitochondrial import 1 (Mim1) plays a central role in mediating the insertion of Ugo1. Collectively, these results suggest that Ugo1 is inserted into the MOM by a novel pathway in which Tom70 and Mim1 contribute to the efficiency and selectivity of the process.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document