title: Evolutionary diversity of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter.
abstract: Calcium uptake into mitochondria occurs via a recently identified ion channel called the uniporter. Here, we characterize the phylogenomic distribution of the uniporter's membrane-spanning pore subunit (MCU) and regulatory partner (MICU1). Homologs of both components tend to co-occur in all major branches of eukaryotic life, but both have been lost along certain protozoan and fungal lineages. Several bacterial genomes also contain putative MCU homologs that may represent prokaryotic calcium channels. The analyses indicate that the uniporter may have been an early feature of mitochondria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Bick
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: Vamsi K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Mootha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000737:chemistry*; D033681:Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D020543:Proteome
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D015220:Calcium Channels; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; C116241:MICU1 protein, human; D033681:Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins; D020543:Proteome; C034703:mitochondrial calcium uniporter