title: Mitochondrial cristae revealed with focused light.
abstract: Because of the diffraction resolution barrier, optical microscopes have so far failed in visualizing the mitochondrial cristae, that is, the folds of the inner membrane of this 200 to 400 nm diameter sized tubular organelle. Realizing a approximately 30 nm isotropic subdiffraction resolution in isoSTED fluorescence nanoscopy, we have visualized these essential structures in the mitochondria of intact cells. We find a pronounced heterogeneity in the cristae arrangements even within individual mitochondrial tubules.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of NanoBiophotonics, 37077 Gottingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Christian A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Wurm
authors.forename: Annedore
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Punge
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Egner
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jakobs
authors.forename: Stefan W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004173:Dipodomys; D008027:Light; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051336:Mitochondrial Membranes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*