Merging mitochondria matters: cellular role and molecular machinery of mitochondrial fusion.
Fusion is essential for mitochondrial function in a great variety of eukaryotic cell types. Yeast cells defective in mitohondrial fusion are respiration-deficient, human cells use complementation of fused mitochondria as a defence against the accumulation of oxidative damage during cellular aging and fusion is required to build an intracellular mitochondrial continuum that allows the dissipation of energy in the cell. Moreover, developmental processes such as spermatogenesis in Drosophila require regulated mitochondrial fusion. Some of the molecular mediators of mitochondrial membrane fusion have been identified in recent years. An evolutionarily conserved large GTPase in the outer membrane is essential for mitochondrial fusion, and genetic screens in yeast are revealing an increasing number of additional important genes. Mechanistic studies have provided the first insights into how the problem of faithfully fusing a double membrane-bounded organelle in a coordinated manner is solved.
Westermann
Benedikt
B
Institut für Physiologische Chemie der Universität München, Butenandtstrasse 5, D-81377 München, Germany. benedikt.westermann@bio.med.uni-muenchen.de
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D015003:Yeasts
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C082883:MGM1 protein, S cerevisiae; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C107312:Fzo protein, Drosophila; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins