Mitochondrion - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Cell biology

Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...

, a mitochondrion (plural mitochondria) is a membrane

Biological membrane

A biological membrane or biomembrane is an enclosing or separatingmembrane that acts as a selective barrier, within or around a cell. It consists of a lipid bilayer with embedded proteins that may constitute close to 50% of membrane content...

-enclosed organelle

Organelle

In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific function, and is usually separately enclosed within its own lipid bilayer....

found in most eukaryotic

Eukaryote

A eukaryote is an organism whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes may more formally be referred to as the taxon Eukarya or Eukaryota. The defining membrane-bound structure that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus, or nuclear...

cells

Cell (biology)

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....

. These organelles range from 0.5 to 1.0 micrometers (μm

Micrometre

A micrometer , is by definition 1×10-6 of a meter .In plain English, it means one-millionth of a meter . Its unit symbol in the International System of Units is μm...

) in diameter. Mitochondria are sometimes described as "cellular power plants" because they generate most of the cell's supply of adenosine triphosphate

Adenosine triphosphate

Adenosine-5'-triphosphate is a multifunctional nucleoside triphosphate used in cells as a coenzyme. It is often called the "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer. ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism...

(ATP), used as a source of chemical energy

Chemical energy

Chemical energy is the potential of a chemical substance to undergo a transformation through a chemical reaction or, to transform other chemical substances...

.
In addition to supplying cellular energy, mitochondria are involved in a range of other processes, such as signaling

Cell signaling

Cell signaling is part of a complex system of communication that governs basic cellular activities and coordinates cell actions. The ability of cells to perceive and correctly respond to their microenvironment is the basis of development, tissue repair, and immunity as well as normal tissue...

, cellular differentiation

Cellular differentiation

In developmental biology, cellular differentiation is the process by which a less specialized cell becomes a more specialized cell type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as the organism changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of...

, cell death

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal DNA fragmentation...

, as well as the control of the cell cycle

Cell cycle

The cell cycle, or cell-division cycle, is the series of events that takes place in a cell leading to its division and duplication . In cells without a nucleus , the cell cycle occurs via a process termed binary fission...

and cell growth

Cell growth

The term cell growth is used in the contexts of cell development and cell division . When used in the context of cell division, it refers to growth of cell populations, where one cell grows and divides to produce two "daughter cells"...

. Mitochondria have been implicated in several human diseases, including mitochondrial disorders and cardiac dysfunction, and may play a role in the aging process. The word mitochondrion comes from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

μίτος or mitos, thread + χονδρίον or chondrion, granule.

Several characteristics make mitochondria unique. The number of mitochondria in a cell varies widely by organism

Organism

In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...

and tissue

Tissue (biology)

Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...

type. Many cells have only a single mitochondrion, whereas others can contain several thousand mitochondria. The organelle is composed of compartments that carry out specialized functions. These compartments or regions include the outer membrane

Outer mitochondrial membrane

thumb|300px|Mitochondria structure :1) [[Inner membrane]]2) Outer membrane3) [[Crista]]4) [[Matrix |Matrix]]The outer mitochondrial membrane, which encloses the entire organelle, has a protein-to-phospholipid ratio similar to the eukaryotic plasma membrane...

, the intermembrane space

Intermembrane space

The intermembrane space also known as IMS is the region between the inner membrane and the outer membrane of a mitochondrion or a chloroplast. The main function of the intermembrane space is oxidative phosphorylation....

, the inner membrane

Inner mitochondrial membrane

The mitochondrial inner membrane forms internal compartments known as cristae, which allow greater space for the proteins such as cytochromes to function properly and efficiently. The electron transport chain is located on the inner membrane of the mitochondria...

, and the cristae and matrix

Mitochondrial matrix

In the mitochondrion, the matrix contains soluble enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of pyruvate and other small organic molecules.The mitochondrial matrix also contains the mitochondria's DNA and ribosomes. The word "matrix" stems from the fact that this space is viscous, compared to the...

. Mitochondrial proteins vary depending on the tissue and the species. In humans, 615 distinct types of proteins have been identified from cardiac

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

mitochondria, whereas in Murinae

Murinae

The Old World rats and mice, part of the subfamily Murinae in the family Muridae, comprise at least 519 species. This subfamily is larger than all mammal families except the Cricetidae and Muridae, and is larger than all mammal orders except the bats and the remainder of the...

(rats), 940 proteins encoded by distinct genes have been reported. The mitochondrial proteome

Proteome

The proteome is the entire set of proteins expressed by a genome, cell, tissue or organism. More specifically, it is the set of expressed proteins in a given type of cells or an organism at a given time under defined conditions. The term is a portmanteau of proteins and genome.The term has been...

is thought to be dynamically regulated. Although most of a cell's DNA is contained in the cell nucleus

Cell nucleus

In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes. The genes within these...

, the mitochondrion has its own independent genome

Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...

. Further, its DNA shows substantial similarity to bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

l genome

Genome

In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....

History

The first observations of intracellular structures that probably represent mitochondria were published in the 1840s. Richard Altmann

Richard Altmann

Richard Altmann was a German pathologist and histologist from Deutsch Eylau in the Province of Prussia. He studied medicine in Greifswald, Königsberg, Marburg, and Giessen, and earned his doctorate at the University of Giessen in 1877...

, in 1894, established them as cell organelles and called them 'bioblasts'. The literal term 'mitochondria' was coined by Carl Benda in 1898. Friedrich Meves, in 1904, was the first to observe and record the observation of mitochondria in plants (Nymphea). B. F. Kingsbury, in 1912, first related them with cell respiration, but almost exclusively based on morphological observations. Philip Siekevitz, in 1957, anointed them 'the powerhouse of the cell'.

Structure

A mitochondrion contains outer and inner membranes composed of phospholipid bilayers and protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

s. The two membranes, however, have different properties. Because of this double-membraned organization, there are five distinct compartments within the mitochondrion. There is the outer mitochondrial membrane, the intermembrane space (the space between the outer and inner membranes), the inner mitochondrial membrane, the cristae space (formed by infoldings of the inner membrane), and the matrix (space within the inner membrane).

Outer membrane

The outer mitochondrial membrane, which encloses the entire organelle

Organelle

In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific function, and is usually separately enclosed within its own lipid bilayer....

, has a protein-to-phospholipid

Phospholipid

Phospholipids are a class of lipids that are a major component of all cell membranes as they can form lipid bilayers. Most phospholipids contain a diglyceride, a phosphate group, and a simple organic molecule such as choline; one exception to this rule is sphingomyelin, which is derived from...

ratio similar to that of the eukaryotic plasma membrane (about 1:1 by weight). It contains large numbers of integral proteins called porins
Porin (protein)
Porins are beta barrel proteins that cross a cellular membrane and act as a pore through which molecules can diffuse. Unlike other membrane transport proteins, porins are large enough to allow passive diffusion, i.e., they act as channels that are specific to different types of molecules...

. These porins form channels that allow molecules 5000 Daltons

Atomic mass unit

The unified atomic mass unit or dalton is a unit that is used for indicating mass on an atomic or molecular scale. It is defined as one twelfth of the rest mass of an unbound neutral atom of carbon-12 in its nuclear and electronic ground state, and has a value of...

or less in molecular weight to freely diffuse

Diffusion

Molecular diffusion, often called simply diffusion, is the thermal motion of all particles at temperatures above absolute zero. The rate of this movement is a function of temperature, viscosity of the fluid and the size of the particles...

from one side of the membrane to the other. Larger proteins can enter the mitochondrion if a signaling sequence at their N-terminus binds to a large multisubunit

Protein subunit

In structural biology, a protein subunit or subunit protein is a single protein molecule that assembles with other protein molecules to form a protein complex: a multimeric or oligomeric protein. Many naturally occurring proteins and enzymes are multimeric...

protein called translocase of the outer membrane

Translocase of the outer membrane

The translocase of the outer membrane is a complex of proteins found in the outer mitochondrial membrane of the mitochondria. Its function is to allow movement of proteins through this barrier and into the intermembrane space of the mitochondrion. Most of the proteins needed for mitochondrial...

, which then actively moves them across the membrane. Disruption of the outer membrane permits proteins in the intermembrane space to leak into the cytosol

Cytosol

The cytosol or intracellular fluid is the liquid found inside cells, that is separated into compartments by membranes. For example, the mitochondrial matrix separates the mitochondrion into compartments....

, leading to certain cell death.
The mitochondrial outer membrane can associate with the endoplasmic reticulum

Endoplasmic reticulum

The endoplasmic reticulum is an organelle of cells in eukaryotic organisms that forms an interconnected network of tubules, vesicles, and cisternae...

(ER) membrane, in a structure called MAM (mitochondria-associated ER-membrane). This is important in ER-mitochondria calcium signaling and involved in the transfer of lipids between the ER and mitochondria.

Intermembrane space

The intermembrane space

Intermembrane space

is the space between the outer membrane and the inner membrane. Because the outer membrane is freely permeable to small molecules, the concentrations of small molecules such as ions and sugars in the intermembrane space is the same as the cytosol

Cytosol

. However, large proteins must have a specific signaling sequence to be transported across the outer membrane, so the protein composition of this space is different from the protein composition of the cytosol

Cytosol

. One protein that is localized to the intermembrane space in this way is cytochrome c

Cytochrome c

The Cytochrome complex, or cyt c is a small heme protein found loosely associated with the inner membrane of the mitochondrion. It belongs to the cytochrome c family of proteins. Cytochrome c is a highly soluble protein, unlike other cytochromes, with a solubility of about 100 g/L and is an...

Inner membrane

The inner mitochondrial membrane contains proteins with five types of functions:

Those that perform the redox
Redox
Redox reactions describe all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed....

reactions of oxidative phosphorylation
Oxidative phosphorylation
Oxidative phosphorylation is a metabolic pathway that uses energy released by the oxidation of nutrients to produce adenosine triphosphate . Although the many forms of life on earth use a range of different nutrients, almost all aerobic organisms carry out oxidative phosphorylation to produce ATP,...
ATP synthase
ATP synthase
right|thumb|300px|Molecular model of ATP synthase by X-ray diffraction methodATP synthase is an important enzyme that provides energy for the cell to use through the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate . ATP is the most commonly used "energy currency" of cells from most organisms...

, which generates ATP
Adenosine triphosphate
Adenosine-5'-triphosphate is a multifunctional nucleoside triphosphate used in cells as a coenzyme. It is often called the "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer. ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism...

in the matrix
Specific transport proteins that regulate metabolite
Metabolite
Metabolites are the intermediates and products of metabolism. The term metabolite is usually restricted to small molecules. A primary metabolite is directly involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction. Alcohol is an example of a primary metabolite produced in large-scale by industrial...

passage into and out of the matrix
Protein import machinery.
Mitochondria fusion and fission protein

It contains more than 151 different polypeptides, and has a very high protein-to-phospholipid ratio (more than 3:1 by weight, which is about 1 protein for 15 phospholipids). The inner membrane is home to around 1/5 of the total protein in a mitochondrion. In addition, the inner membrane is rich in an unusual phospholipid, cardiolipin

Cardiolipin

Cardiolipin is an important component of the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it constitutes about 20% of the total lipid composition. The only other place that cardiolipin can be found is in the membranes of most bacteria. The name ‘cardiolipin’ is derived from the fact that it was first...

. This phospholipid was originally discovered in cow hearts in 1942, and is usually characteristic of mitochondrial and bacterial plasma membranes. Cardiolipin contains four fatty acids rather than two and may help to make the inner membrane impermeable. Unlike the outer membrane, the inner membrane doesn't contain porins and is highly impermeable to all molecules. Almost all ions and molecules require special membrane transporters to enter or exit the matrix. Proteins are ferried into the matrix via the translocase of the inner membrane

Translocase of the inner membrane

The translocase of the inner membrane is a complex of proteins found in the inner mitochondrial membrane of the mitochondria. Components of the TIM complex facilitate the translocation of proteins across the inner membrane and into the matrix...

(TIM) complex or via Oxa1. In addition, there is a membrane potential across the inner membrane formed by the action of the enzymes of the electron transport chain

Electron transport chain

An electron transport chain couples electron transfer between an electron donor and an electron acceptor with the transfer of H+ ions across a membrane. The resulting electrochemical proton gradient is used to generate chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate...

Cristae

The inner mitochondrial membrane is compartmentalized into numerous crista

Crista

Cristae are the internal compartments formed by the inner membrane of a mitochondrion. They are studded with proteins, including ATP synthase and a variety of cytochromes. The maximum surface for chemical reactions to occur is within the mitochondria...

e, which expand the surface area of the inner mitochondrial membrane, enhancing its ability to produce ATP. For typical liver mitochondria the area of the inner membrane is about five times greater than the outer membrane. This ratio is variable and mitochondria from cells that have a greater demand for ATP, such as muscle cells, contain even more cristae. These folds are studded with small round bodies known as F₁ particles

F-ATPase

F-ATPase, also known as F-Type ATPase , is an ATPase found in bacterial plasma membranes, in mitochondrial inner membranes, and in chloroplast thylakoid membranes...

or oxysomes. These are not simple random folds but rather invaginations of the inner membrane, which can affect overall chemiosmotic

Chemiosmosis

Chemiosmosis is the movement of ions across a selectively permeable membrane, down their electrochemical gradient. More specifically, it relates to the generation of ATP by the movement of hydrogen ions across a membrane during cellular respiration....

function.

One recent mathematical modeling study has suggested that the optical properties of the cristae in filamentous mitochondria may affect the generation and propagation of light within the tissue.

Matrix

The matrix is the space enclosed by the inner membrane. It contains about 2/3 of the total protein in a mitochondrion. The matrix is important in the production of ATP with the aid of the ATP synthase contained in the inner membrane. The matrix contains a highly-concentrated mixture of hundreds of enzymes, special mitochondrial ribosomes, tRNA, and several copies of the mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA

genome

Genome

. Of the enzymes, the major functions include oxidation of pyruvate and fatty acids, and the citric acid cycle

Citric acid cycle

The citric acid cycle — also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle , the Krebs cycle, or the Szent-Györgyi-Krebs cycle — is a series of chemical reactions which is used by all aerobic living organisms to generate energy through the oxidization of acetate derived from carbohydrates, fats and...

.

Mitochondria have their own genetic material, and the machinery to manufacture their own RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

s and protein

Protein

s (see: protein biosynthesis
Protein biosynthesis
Protein biosynthesis is the process in which cells build or manufacture proteins. The term is sometimes used to refer only to protein translation but more often it refers to a multi-step process, beginning with amino acid synthesis and transcription of nuclear DNA into messenger RNA, which is then...

). A published human mitochondrial DNA sequence revealed 16,569 base pair

Base pair

In molecular biology and genetics, the linking between two nitrogenous bases on opposite complementary DNA or certain types of RNA strands that are connected via hydrogen bonds is called a base pair...

s encoding 37 total genes: 22 tRNA, 2 rRNA, and 13 peptide

Peptide

Peptides are short polymers of amino acid monomers linked by peptide bonds. They are distinguished from proteins on the basis of size, typically containing less than 50 monomer units. The shortest peptides are dipeptides, consisting of two amino acids joined by a single peptide bond...

genes. The 13 mitochondrial peptides in humans are integrated into the inner mitochondrial membrane, along with protein

Protein

s encoded by gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

s that reside in the host cell's nucleus

Cell nucleus

Mitochondria-associated ER membrane (MAM)

The mitochondria-associated ER membrane (MAM) is another structural element that is increasingly recognized for its critical role in cellular physiology and homeostasis. Once considered a technical snag in cell fractionation techniques, the alleged ER vesicle contaminants that invariably appeared in the mitochondrial fraction have been re-identified as membranous structures derived from the MAM—the interface between mitochondria and the ER. Physical coupling between these two organelles had previously been observed in electron micrographs and has more recently been probed with fluorescence microscopy. Such studies estimate that at the MAM, which may comprise up to 20% of the mitochondrial outer membrane, the ER and mitochondria are separated by a mere 10-25 nm and held together by protein tethering complexes.

Purified MAM from subcellular fractionation has shown to be enriched in enzymes involved in phospholipid exchange, in addition to channels associated with Ca²⁺ signaling. These hints of a prominent role for the MAM in the regulation of cellular lipid stores and signal transduction have been borne out, with significant implications for mitochondrial-associated cellular phenomena, as discussed below. Not only has the MAM provided insight into the mechanistic basis underlying such physiological processes as intrinsic apoptosis and the propagation of calcium signaling, but it also favors a more refined view of the mitochondria. Though often seen as static, isolated ‘powerhouses’ hijacked for cellular metabolism through an ancient endosymbiotic event, the evolution of the MAM underscores the extent to which mitochondria have been integrated into overall cellular physiology, with intimate physical and functional coupling to the endomembrane system.

Phospholipid transfer

The MAM is enrichad in enzymes involved in lipid biosynthesis, such as phosphatidylserine synthase on the ER face and phosphatidylserine decarboxylase on the mitochondrial face. Because mitochondria are dynamic organelles constantly undergoing fission and fusion events, they require a constant and well-regulated supply of phospholipids for membrane integrity. But mitochondria are not only a destination for the phospholipids they finish synthesis of; rather, this organelle also plays a role in inter-organelle trafficking of the intermediates and products of phospholipid biosynthetic pathways, ceramide and cholesterol metabolism, and glycosphingolipid anabolism.

Such trafficking capacity depends on the MAM, which has been shown to facilitate transfer of lipid intermediates between organelles. In contrast to the standard vesicular mechanism of lipid transfer, evidence indicates that the physical proximity of the ER and mitochondrial membranes at the MAM allows for lipid flipping between apposed bilayers. Despite this unusual and seemingly energetically unfavorable mechanism, such transport does not require ATP. Instead, it has been shown to be dependent on a multiprotein tethering structure termed the ER-mitochondria encounter structure, or ERMES, although it remains unclear whether this structure directly mediates lipid transfer or is required to keep the membranes in sufficiently close proximity to lower the energy barrier for lipid flipping.

The MAM may also be part of the secretory pathway, in addition to its role in intracellular lipid trafficking. In particular, the MAM appears to be an intermediate destination between the rough ER and the Golgi in the pathway that leads to very-low-density lipoprotein, or VLDL, assembly and secretion. The MAM thus serves as a critical metabolic and trafficking hub in lipid metabolism.

Calcium signaling

A critical role for the ER in calcium signaling was acknowledged before such a role for the mitochondria was widely accepted, in part because the low affinity of Ca²⁺ channels localized to the outer mitochondrial membrane seemed to fly in the face of this organelle’s purported responsiveness to changes in intracellular Ca²⁺ flux. But the presence of the MAM resolves this apparent contradiction: the close physical association between the two organelles results in Ca²⁺ microdomains at contact points that facilitate efficient Ca²⁺ transmission from the ER to the mitochondria. Transmission occurs in response to so-called “Ca²⁺ puffs” generated by spontaneous clustering and activation of IP3R, a canonical ER membrane Ca²⁺ channel.

The fate of these puffs—in particular, whether they remain restricted to isolated locales or integrated into Ca²⁺ waves for propagation throughout the cell—is determined in large part by MAM dynamics. Although reuptake of Ca²⁺ by the ER (concomitant with its release) modulates the intensity of the puffs, thus insulating mitochondria to a certain degree from high Ca²⁺ exposure, the MAM often serves as a firewall that essentially buffers Ca²⁺ puffs by acting as a sink into which free ions released into the cytosol can be funneled. This Ca²⁺ tunneling occurs through the low-affinity Ca²⁺ receptor VDAC1, which recently has been shown to be physically tethered to the IP3R clusters on the ER membrane and enriched at the MAM. The ability of mitochondria to serve as a Ca²⁺ sink is a result of the electrochemical gradient generated during oxidative phosphorylation, which makes tunneling of the cation an exergonic process.

But transmission of Ca²⁺ is not unidirectional; rather, it is a two-way street. The properties of the Ca²⁺ pump SERCA and the channel IP3R present on the ER membrane facilitate feedback regulation coordinated by MAM function. In particular, clearance of Ca²⁺ by the MAM allows for spatio-temporal patterning of Ca²⁺ signaling because Ca²⁺ alters IP3R activity in a biphasic manner. SERCA is likewise affected by mitochondrial feedback: uptake of Ca²⁺ by the MAM stimulates ATP production, thus providing energy that enables SERCA to reload the ER with Ca²⁺ for continued Ca²⁺ efflux at the MAM. Thus, the MAM is not a passive buffer for Ca²⁺ puffs; rather it helps modulate further Ca²⁺ signaling through feedback loops that affect ER dynamics.

Regulating ER release of Ca²⁺ at the MAM is especially critical because only a certain window of Ca²⁺ uptake sustains the mitochondria, and consequently the cell, at homeostasis. Sufficient intraorganelle Ca²⁺ signaling is required to stimulate metabolism by activating dehydrogenase enzymes critical to flux through the citric acid cycle. However, once Ca²⁺ signaling in the mitochondria passes a certain threshold, it stimulates the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in part by collapsing the mitochondrial membrane potential required for metabolism. Studies examining the role of pro- and anti-apoptotic factors support this model; for example, the anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2 has been shown to interact with IP3Rs to reduce Ca²⁺ filling of the ER, leading to reduced efflux at the MAM and preventing collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential post-apoptotic stimuli. Given the need for such fine regulation of Ca²⁺ signaling, it is perhaps unsurprising that dysregulated mitochondrial Ca²⁺ has been implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases, while the catalogue of tumor suppressors includes a few that are enriched at the MAM.

Molecular basis for tethering

Recently advances in the identification of the tethers between the mitochondrial and ER membranes suggest that the scaffolding function of the molecular elements involved is secondary to other, non-structural functions. ERMES, a multiprotein complex of interacting ER- and mitochondrial-resident membrane proteins, is required for lipid transfer at the MAM and exemplifies this principle. One of its components, for example, is also a constituent of the protein complex required for insertion of transmembrane beta-barrel proteins into the lipid bilayer. Other proteins implicated in scaffolding likewise have functions independent of structural tethering at the MAM; for example, ER-resident and mitochondrial-resident mitofusins form heterocomplexes that regulate the number of inter-organelle contact sites, although mitofusins were first identified for their role in fission

Mitochondrial fission

Mitochondria can divide by fission and since they require mitochondrial DNA for their function, fission is coordinated with DNA replication. Some of the proteins that are involved in mitochondrial fission have been identified and some of them are associated with mitochondrial...

and fusion events between individual mitochondria. Glucose-related protein 75 (grp75) is another dual-function protein. In addition to the matrix pool of grp75, a portion serves as a chaperone that physically links the mitochondrial and ER Ca²⁺ channels VDAC and IP3R for efficient Ca²⁺ transmission at the MAM. Another prominent tether is Sigma-1R, another chaperone whose stabilization of ER-resident IP3R has been proposed to preserve communication at the MAM during the metabolic stress response.

Perspective

The MAM is a critical signaling, metabolic, and trafficking hub in the cell that allows for the integration of ER and mitochondrial physiology. Coupling between these organelles is not simply structural but functional as well and critical for overall cellular physiology and homeostasis. The MAM thus offers a perspective on mitochondria that diverges from the traditional view of this organelle as a static, isolated unit appropriated for its metabolic capacity by the cell. Instead, this mitochondrial-ER interface emphasizes the integration of the mitochondria, the product of an endosymbiotic event, into diverse cellular processes.

Organization and distribution

Mitochondria are found in nearly all eukaryote

Eukaryote

s. They vary in number and location according to cell type. A single mitochondrion is often found in unicellular organisms. Conversely, numerous mitochondria are found in human liver cells, with about 1000–2000 mitochondria per cell making up 1/5 of the cell volume. The mitochondria can be found nestled between myofibril

Myofibril

A myofibril is a basic unit of a muscle. Muscles are composed of tubular cells called myocytes or myofibers. Myofibers are composed of tubular myofibrils. Myofibrils are composed of long proteins such as actin, myosin, and titin, and other proteins that hold them together...

s of muscle

Muscle

Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...

or wrapped around the sperm

Sperm

The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive cells. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell...

flagellum

Flagellum

A flagellum is a tail-like projection that protrudes from the cell body of certain prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, and plays the dual role of locomotion and sense organ, being sensitive to chemicals and temperatures outside the cell. There are some notable differences between prokaryotic and...

. Often they form a complex 3D branching network inside the cell with the cytoskeleton

Cytoskeleton

The cytoskeleton is a cellular "scaffolding" or "skeleton" contained within a cell's cytoplasm and is made out of protein. The cytoskeleton is present in all cells; it was once thought to be unique to eukaryotes, but recent research has identified the prokaryotic cytoskeleton...

. The association with the cytoskeleton determines mitochondrial shape, which can affect the function as well. Recent evidence suggests vimentin

Vimentin

Vimentin is a type III intermediate filament protein that is expressed in mesenchymal cells. IF proteins are found in all metazoan cells as well as bacteria. IF, along with tubulin-based microtubules and actin-based microfilaments, comprise the cytoskeleton...

, one of the components of the cytoskeleton, is critical to the association with the cytoskeleton.

Function

The most prominent roles of mitochondria are to produce ATP

Adenosine triphosphate

(i.e., phosphorylation of ADP

Adenosine diphosphate

Adenosine diphosphate, abbreviated ADP, is a nucleoside diphosphate. It is an ester of pyrophosphoric acid with the nucleoside adenosine. ADP consists of the pyrophosphate group, the pentose sugar ribose, and the nucleobase adenine....

) through respiration, and to regulate cellular metabolism

Metabolism

Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...

. The central set of reactions involved in ATP production are collectively known as the citric acid cycle

Citric acid cycle

, or the Krebs Cycle. However, the mitochondrion has many other functions in addition to the production of ATP.

Energy conversion

A dominant role for the mitochondria is the production of ATP

Adenosine triphosphate

, as reflected by the large number of proteins in the inner membrane for this task. This is done by oxidizing the major products of glucose

Glucose

Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...

, pyruvate, and NADH, which are produced in the cytosol. This process of cellular respiration

Cellular respiration

Cellular respiration is the set of the metabolic reactions and processes that take place in the cells of organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate , and then release waste products. The reactions involved in respiration are catabolic reactions that involve...

, also known as aerobic respiration, is dependent on the presence of oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

. When oxygen is limited, the glycolytic products will be metabolized by anaerobic respiration

Anaerobic respiration

Anaerobic respiration is a form of respiration using electron acceptors other than oxygen. Although oxygen is not used as the final electron acceptor, the process still uses a respiratory electron transport chain; it is respiration without oxygen...

, a process that is independent of the mitochondria. The production of ATP from glucose has an approximately 13-fold higher yield during aerobic respiration compared to anaerobic respiration. Recently it has been shown that plant mitochondria can produce a limited amount of ATP without oxygen by using the alternate substrate nitrite

Nitrite

The nitrite ion has the chemical formula NO2−. The anion is symmetric with equal N-O bond lengths and a O-N-O bond angle of ca. 120°. On protonation the unstable weak acid nitrous acid is produced. Nitrite can be oxidised or reduced, with product somewhat dependent on the oxidizing/reducing agent...

Pyruvate and the citric acid cycle

Each pyruvate molecule produced by glycolysis

Glycolysis

Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+...

is actively transported

Active transport

Active transport is the movement of a substance against its concentration gradient . In all cells, this is usually concerned with accumulating high concentrations of molecules that the cell needs, such as ions, glucose, and amino acids. If the process uses chemical energy, such as from adenosine...

across the inner mitochondrial membrane, and into the matrix where it is oxidized

Redox

Redox reactions describe all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed....

and combined with coenzyme A

Coenzyme A

Coenzyme A is a coenzyme, notable for its role in the synthesis and oxidation of fatty acids, and the oxidation of pyruvate in the citric acid cycle. All sequenced genomes encode enzymes that use coenzyme A as a substrate, and around 4% of cellular enzymes use it as a substrate...

to form CO₂, acetyl-CoA

Acetyl-CoA

Acetyl coenzyme A or acetyl-CoA is an important molecule in metabolism, used in many biochemical reactions. Its main function is to convey the carbon atoms within the acetyl group to the citric acid cycle to be oxidized for energy production. In chemical structure, acetyl-CoA is the thioester...

, and NADH.

The acetyl-CoA is the primary substrate to enter the citric acid cycle
Citric acid cycle
The citric acid cycle — also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle , the Krebs cycle, or the Szent-Györgyi-Krebs cycle — is a series of chemical reactions which is used by all aerobic living organisms to generate energy through the oxidization of acetate derived from carbohydrates, fats and...

, also known as the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle or Krebs cycle. The enzymes of the citric acid cycle are located in the mitochondrial matrix, with the exception of succinate dehydrogenase, which is bound to the inner mitochondrial membrane as part of Complex II. The citric acid cycle oxidizes the acetyl-CoA to carbon dioxide, and, in the process, produces reduced cofactors (three molecules of NADH and one molecule of FADH₂) that are a source of electrons for the electron transport chain
Electron transport chain
An electron transport chain couples electron transfer between an electron donor and an electron acceptor with the transfer of H+ ions across a membrane. The resulting electrochemical proton gradient is used to generate chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate...

, and a molecule of GTP

Guanosine triphosphate

Guanosine-5'-triphosphate is a purine nucleoside triphosphate. It can act as a substrate for the synthesis of RNA during the transcription process...

(that is readily converted to an ATP).

NADH and FADH₂: the electron transport chain

The redox energy from NADH and FADH₂ is transferred to oxygen (O₂) in several steps via the electron transport chain. These energy-rich molecules are produced within the matrix via the citric acid cycle but are also produced in the cytoplasm by glycolysis

Glycolysis

Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+...

. Reducing equivalents from the cytoplasm can be imported via the malate-aspartate shuttle

Malate-aspartate shuttle

The malate-aspartate shuttle is a biochemical system for translocating electrons produced during glycolysis across the semipermeable inner membrane of the mitochondrion for oxidative phosphorylation in eukaryotes. These electrons enter the electron transport chain of the mitochondria via reduction...

system of antiporter

Antiporter

An antiporter is an integral membrane protein involved in secondary active transport of two or more different molecules or ions across a phospholipid membrane such as the plasma membrane in opposite directions.In secondary active transport, one species of solute moves along its electrochemical...

proteins or feed into the electron transport chain using a glycerol phosphate shuttle

Glycerol phosphate shuttle

The glycerol-3-phosphate shuttle is a mechanism that regenerates NAD+ from NADH, a by-product of glycolysis. Its importance in transporting reducing equivalents is secondary to the malate-aspartate shuttle.-Reaction:...

. Protein complexes in the inner membrane (NADH dehydrogenase

NADH dehydrogenase

NADH dehydrogenase is an enzyme located in the inner mitochondrial membrane that catalyzes the transfer of electrons from NADH to coenzyme Q...

, cytochrome c reductase

Coenzyme Q - cytochrome c reductase

In enzymology, a ubiquinol—cytochrome-c reductase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reactionThus, the two substrates of this enzyme are dihydroquinone and ferri- cytochrome c, whereas its 3 products are quinone , ferro- cytochrome c, and H+.This enzyme belongs to the family of...

, and cytochrome c oxidase

Cytochrome c oxidase

The enzyme cytochrome c oxidase or Complex IV is a large transmembrane protein complex found in bacteria and the mitochondrion.It is the last enzyme in the respiratory electron transport chain of mitochondria located in the mitochondrial membrane...

) perform the transfer and the incremental release of energy is used to pump protons

Hydrogen ion

Hydrogen ion is recommended by IUPAC as a general term for all ions of hydrogen and its isotopes.Depending on the charge of the ion, two different classes can be distinguished: positively charged ions and negatively charged ions....

(H⁺) into the intermembrane space. This process is efficient, but a small percentage of electrons may prematurely reduce oxygen, forming reactive oxygen species

Reactive oxygen species

Reactive oxygen species are chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen. Examples include oxygen ions and peroxides. Reactive oxygen species are highly reactive due to the presence of unpaired valence shell electrons....

such as superoxide

Superoxide

A superoxide, also known by the obsolete name hyperoxide, is a compound that possesses the superoxide anion with the chemical formula O2−. The systematic name of the anion is dioxide. It is important as the product of the one-electron reduction of dioxygen O2, which occurs widely in nature...

. This can cause oxidative stress

Oxidative stress

Oxidative stress represents an imbalance between the production and manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage...

in the mitochondria and may contribute to the decline in mitochondrial function associated with the aging process.

As the proton concentration increases in the intermembrane space, a strong electrochemical gradient

Electrochemical gradient

An electrochemical gradient is a spatial variation of both electrical potential and chemical concentration across a membrane; that is, a combination of the membrane potential and the pH gradient...

is established across the inner membrane. The protons can return to the matrix through the ATP synthase

ATP synthase

right|thumb|300px|Molecular model of ATP synthase by X-ray diffraction methodATP synthase is an important enzyme that provides energy for the cell to use through the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate . ATP is the most commonly used "energy currency" of cells from most organisms...

complex, and their potential energy is used to synthesize ATP

Adenosine triphosphate

from ADP and inorganic phosphate (P_i). This process is called chemiosmosis

Chemiosmosis

, and was first described by Peter Mitchell

Peter D. Mitchell

Peter Dennis Mitchell, FRS was a British biochemist who was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of the chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis.Mitchell was born in Mitcham, Surrey, England....

who was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...

for his work. Later, part of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Paul D. Boyer

Paul D. Boyer

- External links :* , from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy* * *...

and John E. Walker

John E. Walker

Professor Sir John Ernest Walker is an English chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1997. He is currently the director of the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit in Cambridge, and a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College.He was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, the son of Thomas Ernest Walker, a...

for their clarification of the working mechanism of ATP synthase.

Heat production

Under certain conditions, protons can re-enter the mitochondrial matrix without contributing to ATP synthesis. This process is known as proton leak or mitochondrial uncoupling and is due to the facilitated diffusion

Facilitated diffusion

..Facilitated diffusion is a process of passive transport, facilitated by integral proteins. Facilitated diffusion is the spontaneous passage of molecules or ions across a biological membrane passing through specific transmembrane integral proteins...

of protons into the matrix. The process results in the unharnessed potential energy of the proton electrochemical gradient being released as heat. The process is mediated by a proton channel called thermogenin

Thermogenin

Thermogenin is an uncoupling protein found in the mitochondria of brown adipose tissue . It is used to generate heat by non-shivering thermogenesis...

, or UCP1. Thermogenin is a 33kDa protein first discovered in 1973. Thermogenin is primarily found in brown adipose tissue

Brown adipose tissue

Brown adipose tissue or brown fat is one of two types of fat or adipose tissue found in mammals....

, or brown fat, and is responsible for non-shivering thermogenesis. Brown adipose tissue is found in mammals, and is at its highest levels in early life and in hibernating animals. In humans, brown adipose tissue is present at birth and decreases with age.

Storage of calcium ions

The concentrations of free calcium in the cell can regulate an array of reactions and is important for signal transduction

Signal transduction

Signal transduction occurs when an extracellular signaling molecule activates a cell surface receptor. In turn, this receptor alters intracellular molecules creating a response...

in the cell. Mitochondria can transiently store calcium, a contributing process for the cell's homeostasis of calcium. In fact, their ability to rapidly take in calcium for later release makes them very good "cytosolic buffers" for calcium. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the most significant storage site of calcium, and there is a significant interplay between the mitochondrion and ER with regard to calcium. The calcium is taken up into the matrix

Mitochondrial matrix

by a calcium uniporter

Uniporter

A uniporter is an integral membrane protein that is involved in facilitated diffusion. They can be either a channel or a carrier protein....

on the inner mitochondrial membrane

Inner mitochondrial membrane

. It is primarily driven by the mitochondrial membrane potential

Membrane potential

Membrane potential is the difference in electrical potential between the interior and exterior of a biological cell. All animal cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane composed of a lipid bilayer with a variety of types of proteins embedded in it...

. Release of this calcium back into the cell's interior can occur via a sodium-calcium exchange protein or via "calcium-induced-calcium-release" pathways. This can initiate calcium spikes or calcium waves with large changes in the membrane potential

Membrane potential

. These can activate a series of second messenger system

Second messenger system

Second messengers are molecules that relay signals from receptors on the cell surface to target molecules inside the cell, in the cytoplasm or nucleus. They relay the signals of hormones like epinephrine , growth factors, and others, and cause some kind of change in the activity of the cell...

proteins that can coordinate processes such as neurotransmitter release

Synaptic vesicle

In a neuron, synaptic vesicles store various neurotransmitters that are released at the synapse. The release is regulated by a voltage-dependent calcium channel. Vesicles are essential for propagating nerve impulses between neurons and are constantly recreated by the cell...

in nerve cells and release of hormone

Hormone

A hormone is a chemical released by a cell or a gland in one part of the body that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. In essence, it is a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one...

s in endocrine cells.

Additional functions

Mitochondria play a central role in many other metabolic

Metabolism

tasks, such as:

Regulation of the membrane potential
Membrane potential
Membrane potential is the difference in electrical potential between the interior and exterior of a biological cell. All animal cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane composed of a lipid bilayer with a variety of types of proteins embedded in it...
Apoptosis
Apoptosis
Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death that may occur in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes and death. These changes include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation, and chromosomal DNA fragmentation...

-programmed cell death
Calcium signaling (including calcium-evoked apoptosis)
Cellular proliferation regulation
Regulation of cellular metabolism
Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
Certain heme
Heme
A heme or haem is a prosthetic group that consists of an iron atom contained in the center of a large heterocyclic organic ring called a porphyrin. Not all porphyrins contain iron, but a substantial fraction of porphyrin-containing metalloproteins have heme as their prosthetic group; these are...

synthesis reactions (see also: porphyrin
Porphyrin
Porphyrins are a group of organic compounds, many naturally occurring. One of the best-known porphyrins is heme, the pigment in red blood cells; heme is a cofactor of the protein hemoglobin. Porphyrins are heterocyclic macrocycles composed of four modified pyrrole subunits interconnected at...

)
Steroid
Steroid
A steroid is a type of organic compound that contains a characteristic arrangement of four cycloalkane rings that are joined to each other. Examples of steroids include the dietary fat cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone.The core...

synthesis.

Some mitochondrial functions are performed only in specific types of cells. For example, mitochondria in liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

cells contain enzymes that allow them to detoxify ammonia

Ammonia

Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...

, a waste product of protein metabolism. A mutation in the genes regulating any of these functions can result in mitochondrial disease

Mitochondrial disease

Mitochondrial diseases are a group of disorders caused by dysfunctional mitochondria, the organelles that are the "powerhouses" of the cell. Mitochondria are found in every cell of the human body except red blood cells...

Origin

Mitochondria have many features in common with prokaryote

Prokaryote

The prokaryotes are a group of organisms that lack a cell nucleus , or any other membrane-bound organelles. The organisms that have a cell nucleus are called eukaryotes. Most prokaryotes are unicellular, but a few such as myxobacteria have multicellular stages in their life cycles...

s. As a result, they are believed to be originally derived from endosymbiotic prokaryotes.

A mitochondrion contains DNA

Mitochondrial DNA

, which is organized as several copies of a single, circular chromosome. This mitochondrial chromosome contains genes for redox

Redox

Redox reactions describe all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed....

proteins such as those of the respiratory chain. The CoRR hypothesis

CoRR Hypothesis

The CoRR hypothesis states that the location of genetic information in cytoplasmic organelles permits regulation of its expression by the reduction-oxidation state of its gene products....

proposes that this co-location is required for redox regulation. The mitochondrial genome codes for some RNAs of ribosome

Ribosome

A ribosome is a component of cells that assembles the twenty specific amino acid molecules to form the particular protein molecule determined by the nucleotide sequence of an RNA molecule....

s, and the twenty-two tRNAs necessary for the translation of messenger RNA

Messenger RNA

Messenger RNA is a molecule of RNA encoding a chemical "blueprint" for a protein product. mRNA is transcribed from a DNA template, and carries coding information to the sites of protein synthesis: the ribosomes. Here, the nucleic acid polymer is translated into a polymer of amino acids: a protein...

s into protein. The circular structure is also found in prokaryotes, and the similarity is extended by the fact that mitochondrial DNA is organized with a variant genetic code

Genetic code

The genetic code is the set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material is translated into proteins by living cells....

similar to that of Proteobacteria

Proteobacteria

The Proteobacteria are a major group of bacteria. They include a wide variety of pathogens, such as Escherichia, Salmonella, Vibrio, Helicobacter, and many other notable genera....

. This suggests that their ancestor, the so-called proto-mitochondrion

Proto-mitochondrion

The proto-mitochondrion is the ancestral bacterial endosymbiont from which all mitochondriaare thought to be derived.-Phylogeny:The phylogenetic analyses of the few genes that are still encoded in the genomes of modern mitochondria suggest an alpha-proteobacterial origin for this endosymbiont...

, was a member of the Proteobacteria

Proteobacteria

The Proteobacteria are a major group of bacteria. They include a wide variety of pathogens, such as Escherichia, Salmonella, Vibrio, Helicobacter, and many other notable genera....

. In particular, the proto-mitochondrion was probably closely related to the rickettsia

Rickettsiales

The Rickettsiales, also called rickettsias, are an order of small proteobacteria. Most of those described survive only as endosymbionts of other cells. Some are notable pathogens, including Rickettsia, which causes a variety of diseases in humans...

. However, the exact relationship of the ancestor of mitochondria to the alpha-proteobacteria and whether the mitochondria was formed at the same time or after the nucleus, remains controversial.

A recent study by researchers of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the Oregon State University

Oregon State University

Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...

, seems to indicate that SAR11 could be the ancestor of mitochondrion

Mitochondrion

In cell biology, a mitochondrion is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. These organelles range from 0.5 to 1.0 micrometers in diameter...

existing in most eukaryotic cells.
The ribosomes coded for by the mitochondrial DNA are similar to those from bacteria in size and structure. They closely resemble the bacterial 70S ribosome and not the 80S cytoplasm

Cytoplasm

The cytoplasm is a small gel-like substance residing between the cell membrane holding all the cell's internal sub-structures , except for the nucleus. All the contents of the cells of prokaryote organisms are contained within the cytoplasm...

ic ribosomes, which are coded for by nuclear

Cell nucleus

DNA.

The endosymbiotic relationship of mitochondria with their host cells was popularized by Lynn Margulis

Lynn Margulis

Lynn Margulis was an American biologist and University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is best known for her theory on the origin of eukaryotic organelles, and her contributions to the endosymbiotic theory, which is now generally accepted...

. The endosymbiotic hypothesis

Endosymbiotic theory

The endosymbiotic theory concerns the mitochondria, plastids , and possibly other organelles of eukaryotic cells. According to this theory, certain organelles originated as free-living bacteria that were taken inside another cell as endosymbionts...

suggests that mitochondria descended from bacteria that somehow survived endocytosis

Endocytosis

Endocytosis is a process by which cells absorb molecules by engulfing them. It is used by all cells of the body because most substances important to them are large polar molecules that cannot pass through the hydrophobic plasma or cell membrane...

by another cell, and became incorporated into the cytoplasm

Cytoplasm

. The ability of these bacteria to conduct respiration

Cellular respiration

in host cells that had relied on glycolysis

Glycolysis

Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+...

and fermentation

Fermentation (biochemistry)

Fermentation is the process of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen,...

would have provided a considerable evolutionary advantage. In a similar manner, host cells with symbiotic bacteria capable of photosynthesis

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...

would have had an advantage. The incorporation of symbiotes would have increased the number of environments in which the cells could survive. This symbiotic relationship probably developed 1.7-2 billion years ago.

A few groups of unicellular eukaryotes lack mitochondria: the microsporidia

Microsporidia

The microsporidia constitute a phylum of spore-forming unicellular parasites. They were once thought to be protists but are now known to be fungi. Loosely 1500 of the probably more than one million species are named now. Microsporidia are restricted to animal hosts, and all major groups of animals...

ns, metamonad

Metamonad

The metamonads are a large group of flagellate protozoa. Their composition is not entirely settled, but they include the retortamonads, diplomonads, and possibly the parabasalids and oxymonads as well...

s, and archamoebae

Archamoebae

The Archamoebae are a group of Amoebozoa distinguished by the absence of mitochondria. They include genera that are internal parasites or commensals of animals . A few species are human pathogens, causing diseases such as amoebic dysentery...

. These groups appear as the most primitive eukaryotes on phylogenetic trees constructed using rRNA information, which once suggested that they appeared before the origin of mitochondria. However, this is now known to be an artifact of long-branch attraction—they are derived groups and retain genes or organelles derived from mitochondria (e.g., mitosome

Mitosome

A mitosome is an organelle found in some unicellular eukaryotic organisms. The mitosome has only recently been found and named, and its function has not yet been well characterized. It was termed a 'crypton' by one group, but that name is no longer in use....

s and hydrogenosome

Hydrogenosome

A hydrogenosome is a membrane-enclosed organelle of some anaerobic ciliates, trichomonads and fungi. The hydrogenosomes of trichomonads produce molecular hydrogen, acetate, carbon dioxide and ATP by the combined actions of pyruvate:ferredoxin oxido-reductase, hydrogenase, acetate:succinate CoA...

s).

Genome

The human mitochondrial genome is a circular DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

molecule of about 16 kilobase

Base pair

s. It encodes 37 genes: 13 for subunits

Protein subunit

of respiratory complexes I, III, IV and V, 22 for mitochondrial tRNA (for the 20 standard amino acids, plus an extra gene for leucine and serine), and 2 for rRNA. One mitochondrion can contain two to ten copies of its DNA.

As in prokaryotes, there is a very high proportion of coding DNA and an absence of repeats. Mitochondrial genes are transcribed

Transcription (genetics)

Transcription is the process of creating a complementary RNA copy of a sequence of DNA. Both RNA and DNA are nucleic acids, which use base pairs of nucleotides as a complementary language that can be converted back and forth from DNA to RNA by the action of the correct enzymes...

as multigenic transcripts, which are cleaved and polyadenylated

Polyadenylation

Polyadenylation is the addition of a poly tail to an RNA molecule. The poly tail consists of multiple adenosine monophosphates; in other words, it is a stretch of RNA that has only adenine bases. In eukaryotes, polyadenylation is part of the process that produces mature messenger RNA for translation...

to yield mature mRNAs. Not all proteins necessary for mitochondrial function are encoded by the mitochondrial genome; most are coded by genes in the cell nucleus

Cell nucleus

and the corresponding proteins are imported into the mitochondrion. The exact number of genes encoded by the nucleus and the mitochondrial genome

Mitochondrial DNA

differs between species. In general, mitochondrial genomes are circular, although exceptions have been reported. In general, mitochondrial DNA lacks intron

Intron

An intron is any nucleotide sequence within a gene that is removed by RNA splicing to generate the final mature RNA product of a gene. The term intron refers to both the DNA sequence within a gene, and the corresponding sequence in RNA transcripts. Sequences that are joined together in the final...

s, as is the case in the human mitochondrial genome; however, introns have been observed in some eukaryotic mitochondrial DNA, such as that of yeast

Yeast

Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...

and protist

Protist

Protists are a diverse group of eukaryotic microorganisms. Historically, protists were treated as the kingdom Protista, which includes mostly unicellular organisms that do not fit into the other kingdoms, but this group is contested in modern taxonomy...

s, including Dictyostelium
Dictyostelium
Dictyostelium are Dictyostelid single celled eukaryotic, phagotrophic bacterivores usually present and often abundant in terrestrial ecosystems and are a normal component of the microflora in cells that help in soil balance between bacteria and soils. The amoeba are often grouped as slime mold ....

discoideum.

In animals the mitochondrial genome is typically a single circular chromosome that is approximately 16-kb long and has 37 genes. The genes while highly conserved may vary in location. Curiously this pattern is not found in the human body louse (Pediculus humanus
Pediculus humanus
Pediculus humanus is a species of lice that infects humans. It comprises two subspecies:*Pediculus humanus humanus Linnaeus, 1758 – the body louse*Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer, 1767 – the head louse...

). Instead this mitochondrial genome is arranged in 18 minicircular chromosomes each of which is 3–4 kb long and has one to three genes. This pattern is also found in other sucking lice but not in chewing lice. Recombination has been shown to occur between the minichromosomes. The reason for this difference is not known.

While slight variations on the standard code had been predicted earlier, none was discovered until 1979, when researchers studying human mitochondrial genes

Human mitochondrial genetics

Human mitochondrial genetics is the study of the genetics of the DNA contained in human mitochondria. Mitochondria are small structures in cells that generate energy for the cell to use, and are hence referred to as the "powerhouses" of the cell....

determined that they used an alternative code. Many slight variants have been discovered since, including various alternative mitochondrial codes. Further, the AUA, AUC, and AUU codons are all allowable start codons.

Exceptions to the universal genetic code (UGC) in mitochondria
Organism	Codon	Standard	Novel
Mammal Mammal Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young... ian	AGA, AGG	Arginine	Stop codon
	AUA	Isoleucine	Methionine
	UGA	Stop codon	Tryptophan
Invertebrate Invertebrate An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group... s	AGA, AGG	Arginine	Serine
	AUA	Isoleucine	Methionine
	UGA	Stop codon	Tryptophan
Fungi Fungus A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...	AUA	Isoleucine	Methionine
	UGA	Stop codon	Tryptophan
	CUA	Leucine	Threonine

Some of these differences should be regarded as pseudo-changes in the genetic code due to the phenomenon of RNA editing

RNA editing

The term RNA editing describes those molecular processes in which the information content in an RNA molecule is altered through a chemical change in the base makeup. To date, such changes have been observed in tRNA, rRNA, mRNA and microRNA molecules of eukaryotes but not prokaryotes...

, which is common in mitochondria. In higher plants, it was thought that CGG encoded for tryptophan

Tryptophan

Tryptophan is one of the 20 standard amino acids, as well as an essential amino acid in the human diet. It is encoded in the standard genetic code as the codon UGG...

and not arginine

Arginine

Arginine is an α-amino acid. The L-form is one of the 20 most common natural amino acids. At the level of molecular genetics, in the structure of the messenger ribonucleic acid mRNA, CGU, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA, and AGG, are the triplets of nucleotide bases or codons that codify for arginine during...

; however, the codon in the processed RNA was discovered to be the UGG codon, consistent with the universal genetic code for tryptophan. Of note, the arthropod mitochondrial genetic code has undergone parallel evolution within a phylum, with some organisms uniquely translating AGG to lysine.

Mitochondrial genomes have far fewer genes than the bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

from which they are thought to be descended. Although some have been lost altogether, many have been transferred to the nucleus

Cell nucleus

, such as the respiratory complex II protein subunits. This is thought to be relatively common over evolutionary time. A few organisms, such as the Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium is a protozoan that can cause gastro-intestinal illness with diarrhea in humans.Cryptosporidium is the organism most commonly isolated in HIV positive patients presenting with diarrhea...

, actually have mitochondria that lack any DNA, presumably because all their genes have been lost or transferred. In Cryptosporidium, the mitochondria have an altered ATP

Adenosine triphosphate

generation system that renders the parasite resistant to many classical mitochondrial inhibitors

Enzyme inhibitor

An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to enzymes and decreases their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. They are also used as herbicides and pesticides...

such as cyanide

Cyanide

A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....

, azide

Azide

Azide is the anion with the formula N3−. It is the conjugate base of hydrazoic acid. N3− is a linear anion that is isoelectronic with CO2 and N2O. Per valence bond theory, azide can be described by several resonance structures, an important one being N−=N+=N−...

, and atovaquone

Atovaquone

Atovaquone is a chemical compound that belongs to the class of naphthalenes. Atovaquone is a hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, an analog of ubiquinone, with antipneumocystic activity. Its average wholesale price is about US$2.13 per standard 250 mg. tablet...

Replication and inheritance

Mitochondria divide by binary fission similar to bacterial cell division; unlike bacteria, however, mitochondria can also fuse with other mitochondria. The regulation of this division differs between eukaryotes. In many single-celled eukaryotes, their growth and division is linked to the cell cycle

Cell cycle

. For example, a single mitochondrion may divide synchronously with the nucleus. This division and segregation process must be tightly controlled so that each daughter cell receives at least one mitochondrion. In other eukaryotes (in mammals for example), mitochondria may replicate their DNA and divide mainly in response to the energy needs of the cell, rather than in phase with the cell cycle. When the energy needs of a cell are high, mitochondria grow and divide. When the energy use is low, mitochondria are destroyed or become inactive. In such examples, and in contrast to the situation in many single celled eukaryotes, mitochondria are apparently randomly distributed to the daughter cells during the division of the cytoplasm

Cytoplasm

. Understanding of mitochondrial dynamics, which is described as the balance between mitochondrial fusion and fission, has revealed that functional and structural alterations in mitochondrial morphology are important factors in pathologies associated with several disease conditions .

An individual's mitochondrial genes are not inherited by the same mechanism as nuclear genes. At fertilization of an egg cell

Ovum

An ovum is a haploid female reproductive cell or gamete. Both animals and embryophytes have ova. The term ovule is used for the young ovum of an animal, as well as the plant structure that carries the female gametophyte and egg cell and develops into a seed after fertilization...

by a sperm, the egg nucleus and sperm nucleus each contribute equally to the genetic makeup of the zygote

Zygote

A zygote , or zygocyte, is the initial cell formed when two gamete cells are joined by means of sexual reproduction. In multicellular organisms, it is the earliest developmental stage of the embryo...

nucleus. In contrast, the mitochondria, and therefore the mitochondrial DNA, usually comes from the egg only. The sperm's mitochondria enter the egg but do not contribute genetic information to the embryo. Instead, paternal mitochondria are marked with ubiquitin

Ubiquitin

Ubiquitin is a small regulatory protein that has been found in almost all tissues of eukaryotic organisms. Among other functions, it directs protein recycling.Ubiquitin can be attached to proteins and label them for destruction...

to select them for later destruction inside the embryo

Embryo

An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...

. The egg cell contains relatively few mitochondria, but it is these mitochondria that survive and divide to populate the cells of the adult organism. Mitochondria are, therefore, in most cases inherited down the female line, known as maternal inheritance. This mode is seen in most organisms including all animals. However, mitochondria in some species can sometimes be inherited paternally. This is the norm among certain coniferous plants, although not in pine trees and yew tree

Taxus

Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...

s. It has been suggested that it occurs at a very low level in humans.

Uniparental inheritance

Uniparental inheritance

Uniparental inheritance is a non-mendelian form of inheritance that consists of the transmission of genotypes from one parental type to all progeny. That is, all the genes in offspring will originate from only the mother or only the father. This phenomenon is most commonly observed in eukaryotic...

leads to little opportunity for genetic recombination

Genetic recombination

Genetic recombination is a process by which a molecule of nucleic acid is broken and then joined to a different one. Recombination can occur between similar molecules of DNA, as in homologous recombination, or dissimilar molecules, as in non-homologous end joining. Recombination is a common method...

between different lineages of mitochondria, although a single mitochondrion can contain 2–10 copies of its DNA. For this reason, mitochondrial DNA usually is thought to reproduce by binary fission. What recombination does take place maintains genetic integrity rather than maintaining diversity. However, there are studies showing evidence of recombination in mitochondrial DNA. It is clear that the enzymes necessary for recombination are present in mammalian cells. Further, evidence suggests that animal mitochondria can undergo recombination. The data are a bit more controversial in humans, although indirect evidence of recombination exists. If recombination does not occur, the whole mitochondrial DNA sequence represents a single haplotype

Haplotype

A haplotype in genetics is a combination of alleles at adjacent locations on the chromosome that are transmitted together...

, which makes it useful for studying the evolutionary history of populations.

Population genetic studies

The near-absence of genetic recombination

Genetic recombination

in mitochondrial DNA makes it a useful source of information for scientists involved in population genetics

Population genetics

Population genetics is the study of allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four main evolutionary processes: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow. It also takes into account the factors of recombination, population subdivision and population...

and evolutionary biology. Because all the mitochondrial DNA is inherited as a single unit, or haplotype

Haplotype

A haplotype in genetics is a combination of alleles at adjacent locations on the chromosome that are transmitted together...

, the relationships between mitochondrial DNA from different individuals can be represented as a gene tree

Phylogenetic tree

A phylogenetic tree or evolutionary tree is a branching diagram or "tree" showing the inferred evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities based upon similarities and differences in their physical and/or genetic characteristics...

. Patterns in these gene trees can be used to infer the evolutionary history of populations. The classic example of this is in human evolutionary genetics

Human evolutionary genetics

Human evolutionary genetics studies how one human genome differs from the other, the evolutionary past that gave rise to it, and its current effects. Differences between genomes have anthropological, medical and forensic implications and applications...

, where the molecular clock

Molecular clock

The molecular clock is a technique in molecular evolution that uses fossil constraints and rates of molecular change to deduce the time in geologic history when two species or other taxa diverged. It is used to estimate the time of occurrence of events called speciation or radiation...

can be used to provide a recent date for mitochondrial Eve

Mitochondrial Eve

In the field of human genetics, Mitochondrial Eve refers to the matrilineal "MRCA" . In other words, she was the woman from whom all living humans today descend, on their mother's side, and through the mothers of those mothers and so on, back until all lines converge on one person...

. This is often interpreted as strong support for a recent modern human expansion out of Africa. Another human example is the sequencing of mitochondrial DNA from Neanderthal

Neanderthal

The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...

bones. The relatively large evolutionary distance between the mitochondrial DNA sequences of Neanderthals and living humans has been interpreted as evidence for lack of interbreeding between Neanderthals and anatomically-modern humans.

However, mitochondrial DNA reflects the history of only females in a population and so may not represent the history of the population as a whole. This can be partially overcome by the use of paternal genetic sequences, such as the non-recombining

Genetic recombination

region of the Y-chromosome. In a broader sense, only studies that also include nuclear DNA

Nuclear DNA

Nuclear DNA, nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid , is DNA contained within a nucleus of eukaryotic organisms. In mammals and vertebrates, nuclear DNA encodes more of the genome than the mitochondrial DNA and is composed of information inherited from two parents, one male, and one female, rather than...

can provide a comprehensive evolutionary history of a population.

Mitochondrial diseases

With their central place in cell metabolism, damage — and subsequent dysfunction — in mitochondria is an important factor in a wide range of human diseases. Mitochondrial disorders often present themselves as neurological disorders, but can manifest as myopathy

Myopathy

In medicine, a myopathy is a muscular disease in which the muscle fibers do not function for any one of many reasons, resulting in muscular weakness. "Myopathy" simply means muscle disease...

, diabetes, multiple endocrinopathy, or a variety of other systemic manifestations. Diseases caused by mutation in the mtDNA include Kearns-Sayre syndrome

Kearns-Sayre syndrome

Kearns–Sayre syndrome also known as oculocraniosomatic disease or Oculocraniosomatic neuromuscular disease with ragged red fibers is a mitochondrial myopathy with a typical onset before 20 years of age...

, MELAS syndrome and Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy

Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy or Leber optic atrophy is a mitochondrially inherited degeneration of retinal ganglion cells and their axons that leads to an acute or subacute loss of central vision; this affects predominantly young adult males...

. In the vast majority of cases, these diseases are transmitted by a female to her children, as the zygote

Zygote

derives its mitochondria and hence its mtDNA from the ovum. Diseases such as Kearns-Sayre syndrome

Kearns-Sayre syndrome

, Pearson's syndrome, and progressive external ophthalmoplegia are thought to be due to large-scale mtDNA rearrangements, whereas other diseases such as MELAS syndrome, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy

, myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers (MERRF), and others are due to point mutation

Point mutation

A point mutation, or single base substitution, is a type of mutation that causes the replacement of a single base nucleotide with another nucleotide of the genetic material, DNA or RNA. Often the term point mutation also includes insertions or deletions of a single base pair...

s in mtDNA.

In other diseases, defects in nuclear genes lead to dysfunction of mitochondrial proteins. This is the case in Friedreich's ataxia

Friedreich's ataxia

Friedreich's ataxia is an inherited disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system, resulting in symptoms ranging from gait disturbance to speech problems; it can also lead to heart disease and diabetes....

, hereditary spastic paraplegia

Hereditary spastic paraplegia

Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia , also called Familial Spastic Paraplegias or Strumpell-Lorrain disease, is a group of inherited diseases whose main feature is progressive stiffness and contraction in the lower limbs. as a result of damage to dysfunction of the nerves...

, and Wilson's disease

Wilson's disease

Wilson's disease or hepatolenticular degeneration is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in tissues; this manifests as neurological or psychiatric symptoms and liver disease...

. These diseases are inherited in a dominance relationship

Dominance relationship

Dominance in genetics is a relationship between two variant forms of a single gene, in which one allele masks the effect of the other in influencing some trait. In the simplest case, if a gene exists in two allelic forms , three combinations of alleles are possible: AA, AB, and BB...

, as applies to most other genetic diseases. A variety of disorders can be caused by nuclear mutations of oxidative phosphorylation enzymes, such as coenzyme Q10 deficiency and Barth syndrome

Barth syndrome

Barth syndrome , also known as 3-Methylglutaconic aciduria type II, is a X-linked genetic disorder.-Presentation:Though not always present, the cardinal characteristics of this multi-system disorder include: cardiomyopathy , neutropenia Barth syndrome (BTHS), also known as 3-Methylglutaconic...

. Environmental influences may interact with hereditary predispositions and cause mitochondrial disease. For example, there may be a link between pesticide

Pesticide

Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...

exposure and the later onset of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...

.

Other pathologies with etiology involving mitochondrial dysfunction include schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...

, bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...

, dementia

Dementia

Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...

, Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...

, stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

, cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease

Heart disease or cardiovascular disease are the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis...

, retinitis pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of genetic eye conditions that leads to incurable blindness. In the progression of symptoms for RP, night blindness generally precedes tunnel vision by years or even decades. Many people with RP do not become legally blind until their 40s or 50s and retain some...

, and diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...

. A common thread thought to link these seemingly-unrelated conditions is cellular damage causing oxidative stress

Oxidative stress

. How exactly mitochondrial dysfunction fits into the etiology of these pathologies is yet to be elucidated.

Possible relationships to aging

Given the role of mitochondria as the cell's powerhouse, there may be some leakage of the high-energy electrons in the respiratory chain to form reactive oxygen species

Reactive oxygen species

. This can result in significant oxidative stress

Oxidative stress

in the mitochondria with high mutation rates of mitochondrial DNA. A vicious cycle is thought to occur, as oxidative stress leads to mitochondrial DNA mutations, which can lead to enzymatic abnormalities and further oxidative stress. A number of changes occur to mitochondria during the aging process. Tissues from elderly patients show a decrease in enzymatic activity of the proteins of the respiratory chain. Large deletions in the mitochondrial genome can lead to high levels of oxidative stress

Oxidative stress

and neuronal death in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...

. Hypothesized links between aging and oxidative stress are not new and were proposed over 50 years ago; however, there is much debate over whether mitochondrial changes are causes of aging or merely characteristics of aging. One notable study in mice demonstrated shortened lifespan but no increase in reactive oxygen species despite increasing mitochondrial DNA mutations, suggesting that mitochondrial DNA mutations can cause lifespan shortening by other mechanisms. As a result, the exact relationships between mitochondria, oxidative stress, and aging have not yet been settled.

External links

Mitochondria Atlas at University of Mainz
Mitochondria Research Portal at mitochondrial.net
Mitochondria: Architecture dictates function at cytochemistry.net
Mitochondria links at University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
MIP Mitochondrial Physiology Society
3D structures of proteins from inner mitochondrial membrane at University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
3D structures of proteins associated with outer mitochondrial membrane at University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Mitochondrial Protein Partnership at University of Wisconsin
Mitochondrion - Cell Centered Database
Mitochondrion Reconstructed by Electron Tomography at San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
Video Clip of Rat-liver Mitochondrion from Cryo-electron Tomography

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Structure

Outer membrane

Intermembrane space

Inner membrane

Cristae

Matrix

Mitochondria-associated ER membrane (MAM)

Phospholipid transfer

Calcium signaling

Molecular basis for tethering

Perspective

Organization and distribution

Function

Energy conversion

Pyruvate and the citric acid cycle

NADH and FADH2: the electron transport chain

Heat production

Storage of calcium ions

Additional functions

Origin

Genome

Replication and inheritance

Population genetic studies

Mitochondrial diseases

Possible relationships to aging

See also

External links

NADH and FADH₂: the electron transport chain