Labelling and Visualization of Mitochondrial Genome Expression Products in Baker's Yeast <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em>

Mitochondria are essential organelles of eukaryotic cells capable of aerobic respiration. They contain circular genome and gene expression apparatus. A ...

M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University

The highly streamlined mitochondrial genome encodes almost exclusively a handful of transmembrane components of the respiratory chain complex. In order to ensure the correct assembly of the respiratory chain, the products of these genes must be produced in the correct stoichiometry and inserted into the membrane, posing a unique challenge to the mitochondrial translational system. In this review we describe the proteins orchestrating mitochondrial translation initiation: bacterial-like general initiation factors mIF2 and mIF3, as well as mitochondria-specific components - mRNA-specific translational activators and mRNA-nonspecific accessory initiation factors. We consider how the fast rate of evolution in these organelles has not only created a system that is divergent from that of its bacterial ancestors, but has led to a huge diversity in lineage specific mechanistic features of mitochondrial translation initiation among eukaryotes. 

Mitochondrial translation initiation machinery: conservation and diversification.

Apart from the nucleus, the mitochondrion is the only organelle of an animal cell that contains its own genome. Mitochondrial DNA is much less in size than the nuclear one and codes for only several dozens of biological macromolecules. Nevertheless, mutations in mitochondrial genes often result in the occurrence of serious hereditary neuromuscular diseases. New mitochondrial DNA mutations and their relations to clinical symptoms are continuously reported in the scientific literature. In this review, we summarize existing data about such mutations, and also about contemporary gene therapy approaches that have been developed for their suppression. 

Mutations in mitochondrial DNA and approaches for their correction.

Mitochondrial genome has undergone significant reduction in a course of evolution; however, it still contains a set of protein-encoding genes and requires translational machinery for their expression. Mitochondrial translation is of the prokaryotic type with several remarkable differences. This review is dedicated to one of the most puzzling features of mitochondrial protein synthesis, namely, the system of translational activators, i.e., proteins that specifically regulate translation of individual mitochondrial mRNAs and couple protein biosynthesis with the assembly of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes. The review does not claim to be a comprehensive analysis of all published data; it is rather focused on the idea of the "core component" of the translational activator system.

Activation of Yeast Mitochondrial Translation: Who Is in Charge?

Many mitochondrial genes have been transferred to the nucleus in course of evolution. The products of expression of these genes, being still necessary for organelle function, are imported there from the cytosol. Molecular mechanisms of protein import are studied much deeper than those of nucleic acids. The latter, it seems to us, retards the development of mitochondrial genome editing technologies. In this review, we describe mechanisms of DNA, RNA, and protein import into mitochondria of different eukaryotes. The description is given for the natural processes, as well as for artificial targeting of macromolecules into mitochondria for therapy. Also, we discuss different approaches to introduce changes into the mitochondrial DNA sequence.

Import of Proteins and Nucleic Acids into Mitochondria.

Protein biosynthesis in mitochondria is organized in a bacterial manner. However, during evolution, mitochondrial translation mechanisms underwent many organelle-specific changes. In particular, almost all mitochondrial translation factors, being orthologous to bacterial proteins, are characterized by some unique elements of primary or secondary structure. In the case of the organellar initiation factor 3 (IF3), these elements are several dozen amino acids long N- and C-terminal extensions. This study focused on the terminal extensions of baker's yeast mitochondrial IF3, Aim23p. By in vivo deletion and complementation analysis, we show that at least one extension is necessary for Aim23p function. At the same time, human mitochondrial IF3 is fully functional in yeast mitochondria even without both terminal extensions. While  IF3 itself is poorly active in yeast mitochondria, adding Aim23p terminal extensions makes the resulting chimeric protein as functional as the cognate factor. Our results show that the terminal extensions of IF3 have evolved as the "adaptors" that accommodate the translation factor of bacterial origin to the evolutionary changed protein biosynthesis system in mitochondria.

Biological and Evolutionary Significance of Terminal Extensions of Mitochondrial Translation Initiation Factor 3.

Protein synthesis in mitochondria is generally organized in a bacterial-like manner but, at the same time, possesses several unique traits. Translation initiation in mitochondria is regulated by two protein factors, mtIF2 and mtIF3. Previously we demonstrated that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Aim23 protein is an ortholog of IF3 in budding yeast. However, the data on the interactions between Aim23p and other proteins are limited. Here, we demonstrated that Aim23p interacts with the yeast mitochondrial ribosomal small subunit both in vivo and in vitro using co-immunoprecipitation and density gradient sedimentation.

Aim23p Interacts with the Yeast Mitochondrial Ribosomal Small Subunit.

After billions of years of evolution, mitochondrion retains its own genome, which gets expressed in mitochondrial matrix. Mitochondrial translation machinery rather differs from modern bacterial and eukaryotic cytosolic systems. Any disturbance in mitochondrial translation drastically impairs mitochondrial function. In budding yeast , deletion of the gene coding for mitochondrial translation initiation factor 3 - , leads to an imbalance in mitochondrial protein synthesis and significantly delays growth after shifting from fermentable to non-fermentable carbon sources. Molecular mechanism underlying this adaptation to respiratory growth was unknown. Here, we demonstrate that slow adaptation from glycolysis to respiration in the absence of Aim23p is accompanied by a gradual increase of cytochrome c oxidase activity and by increased levels of Tma19p protein, which protects mitochondria from oxidative stress.

 Strain Lacking Mitochondrial IF3 Shows Increased Levels of Tma19p during Adaptation to Respiratory Growth.

Mitochondria of many living species internalize nuclear DNA-encoded ribonucleic acids. The pools of imported RNA molecules, as well as fine mechanisms of these processes, are highly species-specific. To date, baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are the best studied in this regard. Moreover, the processes of yeast RNA mitochondrial import have been the basis of modeling several gene therapy strategies aimed to palliate negative effects of pathogenic mutations in human mitochondrial DNA. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge about the molecular events taking place in course of yeast RNA import into mitochondria. Also, we describe how this process can be used for compensation of pathogenic mutations in mitochondrial genomes of humans.

[40 Years of Studying RNA Import into Mitochondria: From Basic Mechanisms to Gene Therapy Strategies].

The initiation of protein synthesis in bacteria is ruled by three canonical factors: IF1, IF2, and IF3. This system persists in human mitochondria; however, it functions in a rather different way due to specialization and adaptation to the organellar micro-environment. We focused on human mitochondrial IF3, which was earlier studied in vitro, but no knock-out cellular models have been published up to date. In this work, we generated human HeLa cell lines deficient in the MTIF3 gene and analyzed their mitochondrial function. Despite the lack of IF3mt in these cells, they preserved functional mitochondria capable of oxygen consumption and protein synthesis; however, the translation of ATP6 mRNA was selectively decreased which compromised the assembly of ATP synthase. Together with the analogous results obtained earlier for baker's yeast mitochondrial IF3, our findings point to a functional divergence of mitochondrial initiation factors from their bacterial ancestors.

Initiation Factor 3 is Dispensable For Mitochondrial Translation in Cultured Human Cells.

Mitochondria are obligate organelles of most eukaryotic cells that perform many different functions important for cellular homeostasis. The main role of mitochondria is supplying cells with energy in a form of ATP, which is synthesized in a chain of oxidative phosphorylation reactions on the organelle inner membrane. It is commonly believed now that mitochondria have the endosymbiotic origin. In the course of evolution, they have lost most of their genetic material as a result of genome reduction and gene transfer to the nucleus. The majority of mitochondrial proteins are synthesized in the cytosol and then imported to the mitochondria. However, almost all known mitochondria still contain genomes that are maintained and expressed. The processes of protein biosynthesis in the mitochondria - mitochondrial translation - substantially differs from the analogous processes in bacteria and the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. Mitochondrial translation is characterized by a high degree of specialization and specific regulatory mechanisms. In this review, we analyze available information on the common principles of mitochondrial translation with emphasis on the molecular mechanisms of translation initiation in the mitochondria of yeast and mammalian cells.

Piotr A. Kamenski

Department of Biology

M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University

Labelling and Visualization of Mitochondrial Genome Expression Products in Baker's Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Piotr A. Kamenski

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Biology

M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University

Labelling and Visualization of Mitochondrial Genome Expression Products in Baker's Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Department of Biology