Mitochondrial nucleoid condensates drive peripheral fission through high membrane curvature

QX Chen and LY Liu and ZQ Tian and Z Fang and KN Wang and XT Shao and CY Zhang and WW Zou and F Rowan and KQ Qiu and BH Ji and JL Guan and DC Li and ZW Mao and JJ Diao, CELL REPORTS, 42, 113472 (2023).

DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113472

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that undergo fusion and fission events, in which the mitochondrial membrane and DNA (mtDNA) play critical roles. The spatiotemporal organization of mtDNA reflects and im-pacts mitochondrial dynamics. Herein, to study the detailed dynamics of mitochondrial membrane and mtDNA, we rationally develop a dual-color fluorescent probe, mtGLP, that could be used for simultaneously monitoring mitochondrial membrane and mtDNA dynamics via separate color outputs. By combining mtGLP with structured illumination microscopy to monitor mitochondrial dynamics, we discover the formation of nucleoid condensates in damaged mitochondria. We further reveal that nucleoid condensates promoted the peripheral fission of damaged mitochondria via asymmetric segregation. Through simulations, we find that the peripheral fission events occurred when the nucleoid condensates interacted with the highly curved membrane regions at the two ends of the mitochondria. Overall, we show that mitochondrial nucleoid con-densates utilize peripheral fission to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis.

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