User:A5song

Secrets of mitochondria discovered recently
Mitochondria are a power plant in our cell because it is programming cell death. Mitochondria also involved in signal transduction network; response to both signals from outside and emitted signals themselves. Several areas have been discovered recently. First, DNA of mitochondrial code is unusual. DNA can be replicated, transcribed, and goes to nucleoids. Second, Mitochondria and nuclear can communicate each other. Nucleus talk to mitochondria by imported proteins but still does not discovered how mitochondria talks back to nucleus. Third, mitochondrion relocates protein. Inter membrane space of mitochondrial can oxidize disulfide bridges from sulfhydryl groups even though surrounded environment is highly reduced. The free energy of ATP shocks protein from mitochondrial 70-kDa heat, and it hydrolysis to move proteins across the mitochondrial inner membrane. Fourth, mitochondria can be dividing and fuse by machine, some proteins. Every two mitochondrial membranes have their own shape changing machine to divide and fuse by itself. Last, our body still has maternally inherited from mitochondria DNA. Mitochondria specializes its energy and DNA of mitochondria are maternal. Mitochondrial DNA that uniparental inheritance helps to ensure harmful mutation to encoded subunits; oxidative phosphorylation system letting co-optimized by adaptive mutation from nuclear encoded partner subunits. Moreover, mitochondria still has lots of secrets we will discover even though we already discover many areas in mitochondria.

Reference

Gottfried Schatz. The Magic Garden.annu.Rev.Biochem.2007. 76:673-78