title: The evolution of MICOS: Ancestral and derived functions and interactions.
abstract: The MItochondrial Contact Site and Cristae Organizing System (MICOS) is required for the biogenesis and maintenance of mitochondrial cristae as well as the proper tethering of the mitochondrial inner and outer membranes. We recently demonstrated that the core components of MICOS, Mic10 and Mic60, are near-ubiquitous eukaryotic features inferred to have been present in the last eukaryote common ancestor. We also showed that Mic60 could be traced to α-proteobacteria, which suggests that mitochondrial cristae evolved from α-proteobacterial intracytoplasmic membranes. Here, we extend our evolutionary analysis to MICOS-interacting proteins (e.g., Sam50, Mia40, DNAJC11, DISC-1, QIL1, Aim24, and Cox17) and discuss the implications for both derived and ancestral functions of MICOS.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Comparative Genomics and Evolutionary Bioinformatics; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Dalhousie University ; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: Sergio A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Centre for Comparative Genomics and Evolutionary Bioinformatics; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Dalhousie University; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: Claudio H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Slamovits
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology; Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry; University of Alberta ; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Joel B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Dacks
authors.affiliation: Biosciences; University of Exeter ; Exeter, UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Wideman
keywords: MCS; MICOS; evolutionary cell biology; membrane contact sites; mitofilin