QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online May 28, 2004

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Mitochondrial DNA dynamics

Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cause several neuromuscular disorders. Frequently these mutations are heteroplasmic – i.e. mutant and wild-type molecules coexist within the same cell. It is therefore important to define the mechanisms that govern the organization, mobility and segregation of mtDNA in human cells. Using antibodies directed against DNA, mtDNA-binding proteins and other mitochondrial proteins, Manuel Rojo and co-workers have analysed the localization and dynamics of mtDNA in cultured human cells (see p. 2653). They observe that the cell's mitochondrial network possesses several hundred nucleoids, each of which contains 2-8 mtDNA molecules along with associated proteins. They then show that these exhibit a mobility similar to that of soluble mitochondrial matrix proteins and can spread efficiently into mitochondria lacking mtDNA following cell fusion. By contrast, such fusion-mediated transfer is more limited if the recipient mitochondria already contain mtDNA. This reduced mobility leads to spatial segregation of different mtDNA molecules and has significant implications for individuals who have a mixture of mutant and wild-type mtDNA molecules.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related articles in JCS:

Organization and dynamics of human mitochondrial DNA

Frédéric Legros, Florence Malka, Paule Frachon, Anne Lombès, and Manuel Rojo
JCS 2004 117: 2653-2662. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?