STRUCTURE-FUNCTION STUDIES OF MITOCHONDRIA

Baylor College Of Medicine, Houston TX

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Abstract

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. This project is designed to provide preliminary data on structure-function aspects of mitochondria, with a specific focus on the mitochondrial nucleoid, a mtDNA-protein structure that is considered the basis for mitochondrial DNA segregation. As a preliminary study we will partially purify mitochondria from mouse tissues in both wildtype and mutant strains lacking various mitochondrial components. We propose to examine brain mitochondria from a mouse strain that lacks succinyl CoA ligase (SUCLA2), which in yeast has been assigned to the nucleoid and when mutated in humans leads to mtDNA depletion, suggesting a similar role in mammalian nucleoids. A second strain of interest are mice lacking VDACs (Voltage-dependent Anion Channels), the main channel pathway.