bims-mitran 2024-07-14 papers

Issue of 2024–07–14
three papers selected by
Andreas Kohler, Umeå University

Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2024 Jul 11.

A roadmap for ribosome assembly in human mitochondria.

Elena Lavdovskaia, Elisa Hanitsch, Andreas Linden, Martin Pašen, Venkatapathi Challa, Yehor Horokhovskyi, Hanna P Roetschke, Franziska Nadler, Luisa Welp, Emely Steube, Marleen Heinrichs, Mandy Mong-Quyen Mai, Henning Urlaub, Juliane Liepe, Ricarda Richter-Dennerlein.

Mitochondria contain dedicated ribosomes (mitoribosomes), which synthesize the mitochondrial-encoded core components of the oxidative phosphorylation complexes. The RNA and protein components of mitoribosomes are encoded on two different genomes (mitochondrial and nuclear) and are assembled into functional complexes with the help of dedicated factors inside the organelle. Defects in mitoribosome biogenesis are associated with severe human diseases, yet the molecular pathway of mitoribosome assembly remains poorly understood. Here, we applied a multidisciplinary approach combining biochemical isolation and analysis of native mitoribosomal assembly complexes with quantitative mass spectrometry and mathematical modeling to reconstitute the entire assembly pathway of the human mitoribosome. We show that, in contrast to its bacterial and cytosolic counterparts, human mitoribosome biogenesis involves the formation of ribosomal protein-only modules, which then assemble on the appropriate ribosomal RNA moiety in a coordinated fashion. The presence of excess protein-only modules primed for assembly rationalizes how mitochondria cope with the challenge of forming a protein-rich ribonucleoprotein complex of dual genetic origin. This study provides a comprehensive roadmap of mitoribosome biogenesis, from very early to late maturation steps, and highlights the evolutionary divergence from its bacterial ancestor.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-024-01356-w

Plant Cell Environ. 2024 Jul 11.

Protein aggregation in plant mitochondria lacking Lon1 inhibits translation and induces unfolded protein responses.

Ce Song, Yuanyuan Li, Mengmeng Yang, Tiantian Li, Yuqi Hou, Yinyin Liu, Chang Xu, Jinjian Liu, A Harvey Millar, Ningning Wang, Lei Li.

Loss of Lon1 led to stunted plant growth and accumulation of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins including Lon1 substrates. However, an in-depth label-free proteomics quantification of mitochondrial proteins in lon1 revealed that the majority of mitochondrial-encoded proteins decreased in abundance. Additionally, we found that lon1 mutants contained protein aggregates in the mitochondrial that were enriched in metabolic enzymes, ribosomal subunits and PPR-containing proteins of the translation apparatus. These mutants exhibited reduced general mitochondrial translation as well as deficiencies in RNA splicing and editing. These findings support the role of Lon1 in maintaining a functional translational apparatus for mitochondrial-encoded gene translation. Transcriptome analysis of lon1 revealed a mitochondrial unfolded protein response reminiscent of the mitochondrial retrograde signalling dependent on the transcription factor ANAC017. Notably, lon1 mutants exhibited transiently elevated ethylene production, and the shortened hypocotyl observed in lon1 mutants during skotomorphogenesis was partially alleviated by ethylene inhibitors. Furthermore, the short root phenotype was partially ameliorated by introducing a mutation in the ethylene receptor ETR1. Interestingly, the upregulation of only a select few target genes was linked to ETR1-mediated ethylene signalling. Together this provides multiple steps in the link between loss of Lon1 and signalling responses to restore mitochondrial protein homoeostasis in plants.

Keywords: UPR; ethylene; mitochondrion; translation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.15035

Biol Lett. 2024 Jul;20(7): 20240147

Mitochondrion-to-nucleus communication mediated by RNA export: a survey of potential mechanisms and players across eukaryotes.

Giorgio Muneretto, Federico Plazzi, Marco Passamonti.

The nucleus interacts with the other organelles to perform essential functions of the eukaryotic cell. Mitochondria have their own genome and communicate back to the nucleus in what is known as mitochondrial retrograde response. Information is transferred to the nucleus in many ways, leading to wide-ranging changes in nuclear gene expression and culminating with changes in metabolic, regulatory or stress-related pathways. RNAs are emerging molecules involved in this signalling. RNAs encode precise information and are involved in highly target-specific signalling, through a wide range of processes known as RNA interference. RNA-mediated mitochondrial retrograde response requires these molecules to exit the mitochondrion, a process that is still mostly unknown. We suggest that the proteins/complexes translocases of the inner membrane, polynucleotide phosphorylase, mitochondrial permeability transition pore, and the subunits of oxidative phosphorylation complexes may be responsible for RNA export.

Keywords: mito-nuclear interactions; mitochondrial export; mitochondrial retrograde response; regulatory RNAs; small mitochondrial highly transcribed RNAs

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0147