Skip Navigation



Journal of Biochemistry Advance Access published online on January 2, 2008
Journal of Biochemistry, doi:10.1093/jb/mvm245
This Article
Right arrow Advance Access manuscript (PDF)
Right arrow Supplementary Data
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
143/4/449    most recent
mvm245v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ichishita, R.
Right arrow Articles by Oka, T.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ichishita, R.
Right arrow Articles by Oka, T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2008 The Japanese Biochemical Society

An RNAi screen for mitochondrial proteins required to maintain the morphology of the organelle in C. elegans

Ryohei Ichishita, Kousuke Tanaka, Yoshimi Sugiura, Tomoko Sayano, Katsuyoshi Mihara and Toshihiko Oka*

Department of Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

*Corresponding author, Dr. Toshihiko Oka, Department of Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. Tel: +81-92-642-6178; Fax: +81-92-642-6183; E-mail: okat{at}cell.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp

Received December 7, 2007; Accepted December 7, 2007


  Abstract

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that frequently divide and fuse together, resulting in the formation of intracellular tubular networks. In yeast and mammals, several factors including Drp1/Dnm1 and Mfn/Fzo1 are known to regulate mitochondrial morphology by controlling membrane fission or fusion. Here, we report the systematic screening of Caenorhabditis elegans mitochondrial proteins required to maintain the morphology of the organelle using an RNA interference feeding library. In C. elegans body wall muscle cells, mitochondria usually formed tubular structures and were severely fragmented by the mutation in fzo-1 gene, indicating that the body wall muscle cells are suitable for monitoring changes in mitochondrial morphology due to gene silencing. Of 719 genes predicted to code for most of mitochondrial proteins, knockdown of more than 80% of them caused abnormal mitochondrial morphology, including fragmentation and elongation. These findings indicate that most fundamental mitochondrial functions, including metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation, are necessary for maintenance of the tubular networks as well as membrane fission and fusion. This is the first evidence that known mitochondrial activities are prerequisite for regulating the morphology of the organelle. Furthermore, 88 uncharacterized or poorly characterized genes were found in the screening to be implicated in mitochondrial morphology.

Key Words: Caenorhabditis elegans, Elongation, Fragmentation, Mitochondrial morphology, RNAi screening


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Physiol. Cell Physiol.Home page
G. Benard and R. Rossignol
Mitochondrial fluidity matters. Focus on "Inherited complex I deficiency is associated with faster protein diffusion in the matrix of moving mitochondria"
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, May 1, 2008; 294(5): C1123 - C1123.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.