Work

Evolutionary Diversity of the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter

Year: 2012

Type: article

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.

Source: Science

DOI: 10.1126/science.1214977

Authors: Alexander G. Bick, Sarah E. Calvo, Vamsi K. Mootha

Institutions: Broad Institute, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Mitochondrial Function and Pathology

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: Medical Scientist Training Program, Human Mitochondrial Disease: From Novel Gene Variants to Causality and Function, Characterization of the Mitochondrial Proteome