Functional Analysis of the Oxa1p Export Machinery of Yeast Mitochondria

Marquette University, Milwaukee WI

Investigators

Abstract

Mitochondria contain conserved proteins that facilitate the insertion of proteins into their respective membranes. Prior NSF funding enabled the PI to demonstrate that Oxa1 facilitates the inner membrane insertion of a subset of nuclear- and mitochondrially-encoded proteins. In this new project the PI will focus on how Oxa1 mediates membrane insertion of proteins. Major components of this new study will be the interaction of mitochondrial ribosomes with Oxa1, transmembrane segments of the protein, and identification of other components that interact with the Oxa1 protein. The study will use a variety of biochemical and genetic approaches. Studies of protein targeting and membrane insertion events have important implications for the fundamental question of how biological membranes establish and maintain their specificity and identity. The project will provide research training at three levels: undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral.