bims-tricox Biomed News
on Translation, ribosomes and COX
Issue of 2024–12–08
two papers selected by
Yash Verma, University of Zurich



  1. EMBO Rep. 2024 Dec 02.
      The boundary and cristae domains of the mitochondrial inner membrane are connected by crista junctions. Most cristae membrane proteins are nuclear-encoded and inserted by the mitochondrial protein import machinery into the inner boundary membrane. Thus, they must overcome the diffusion barrier imposed by crista junctions to reach their final location. Here, we show that respiratory chain complexes and assembly intermediates are physically connected to the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system (MICOS) that is essential for the formation and stability of crista junctions. We identify the inner membrane protein Mar26 (Fmp10) as a determinant in the biogenesis of the cytochrome bc1 complex (complex III). Mar26 couples a Rieske Fe/S protein-containing assembly intermediate to MICOS. Our data indicate that Mar26 maintains an assembly-competent Rip1 pool at crista junctions where complex III maturation likely occurs. MICOS facilitates efficient Rip1 assembly by recruiting complex III assembly intermediates to crista junctions. We propose that MICOS, via interaction with assembly factors such as Mar26, contributes to the spatial and temporal coordination of respiratory chain biogenesis.
    Keywords:   bc 1 Complex; Cristae; MICOS; Mitochondria; Respiratory Chain
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s44319-024-00336-x
  2. Cell Rep. 2024 Dec 03. pii: S2211-1247(24)01389-5. [Epub ahead of print]43(12): 115038
      Mitochondrial proteins are transported and sorted to the matrix or inner mitochondrial membrane by the presequence translocase TIM23. In yeast, this essential and highly conserved machinery is composed of the core subunits Tim23 and Tim17. The architecture, assembly, and regulation of the human TIM23 complex are poorly characterized. The human genome encodes two paralogs, TIMM17A and TIMM17B. Here, we describe an unexpected role of the ovarian cancer immunoreactive antigen domain-containing protein 1 (OCIAD1) and the prohibitin complex in the biogenesis of human TIM23. Prohibitins were required to stabilize both the TIMM17A- and TIMM17B-containing variants of the translocase. Interestingly, OCIAD1 assembled with the prohibitin complex to protect the TIMM17A variant from degradation by the YME1L protease. The expression of OCIAD1 was in turn regulated by the status of the TIM23 complex. We postulate that OCIAD1 together with prohibitins constitute a regulatory axis that differentially regulates variants of human TIM23.
    Keywords:  CP: Cell biology; OCIAD1; TIM23 translocase; biogenesis; mitochondria; prohibitin
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.115038