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Defective mitochondrial distribution in neurons is proposed to cause ATP depletion and calcium-buffering deficiencies that compromise cell function. However, it is unclear whether aberrant mitochondrial motility and distribution alone are sufficient to cause neurological disease. Calcium-binding mitochondrial Rho (Miro) GTPases attach mitochondria to motor proteins for anterograde and retrograde transport in neurons. Using two new KO mouse models, we demonstrate that Miro1 is essential for development of cranial motor nuclei required for respiratory control and maintenance of upper motor neurons required for ambulation. Neuron-specific loss of Miro1 causes depletion of mitochondria from corticospinal tract axons and progressive neurological deficits mirroring human upper motor neuron disease. Although Miro1-deficient neurons exhibit defects in retrograde axonal mitochondrial transport, mitochondrial respiratory function continues. Moreover, Miro1 is not essential for calcium-mediated inhibition of mitochondrial movement or mitochondrial calcium buffering. Our findings indicate that defects in mitochondrial motility and distribution are sufficient to cause neurological disease.

The Rab GTPase Ypt11 is a Myo2-binding protein implicated in mother-to-bud transport of the cortical endoplasmic reticulum (ER), late Golgi, and mitochondria during yeast division. However, its reported subcellular localization does not reflect all of these functions. Here we show that Ypt11 is normally a low-abundance protein whose ER localization is only detected when the protein is highly overexpressed. Although it has been suggested that ER-localized Ypt11 and ER-mitochondrial contact sites might mediate passive transport of mitochondria into the bud, we found that mitochondrial, but not ER, association is essential for Ypt11 function in mitochondrial inheritance. Our studies also reveal that Ypt11 function is regulated at multiple levels. In addition to membrane targeting and GTPase domain-dependent effector interactions, the abundance of active Ypt11 forms is controlled by phosphorylation status and degradation. We present a model that synthesizes these new features of Ypt11 function and regulation in mitochondrial inheritance.

In yeast, a protein complex termed the ER-Mitochondria Encounter Structure (ERMES) tethers mitochondria to the endoplasmic reticulum. ERMES proteins are implicated in a variety of cellular functions including phospholipid synthesis, mitochondrial protein import, mitochondrial attachment to actin, polarized mitochondrial movement into daughter cells during division, and maintenance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The mitochondrial-anchored Gem1 GTPase has been proposed to regulate ERMES functions. Here, we show that ERMES and Gem1 have no direct role in the transport of phosphatidylserine (PS) from the ER to mitochondria during the synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), as PS to PE conversion is not affected in ERMES or gem1 mutants. In addition, we report that mitochondrial inheritance defects in ERMES mutants are a secondary consequence of mitochondrial morphology defects, arguing against a primary role for ERMES in mitochondrial association with actin and mitochondrial movement. Finally, we show that ERMES complexes are long-lived, and do not depend on the presence of Gem1. Our findings suggest that the ERMES complex may have primarily a structural role in maintaining mitochondrial morphology., (© 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Under physiological conditions mitochondria of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae form a branched tubular network, the continuity of which is maintained by balanced membrane fusion and fission processes. Here, we show using mitochondrial matrix targeted green fluorescent protein that exposure of cells to extreme heat shock led to dramatic changes in mitochondrial morphology, as tubular network disintegrated into several fragmented vesicles. Interestingly, this fragmentation did not affect mitochondrial ability to maintain the membrane potential. Cells subjected to recovery at physiological temperature were able to restore the mitochondrial network, as long as an active matrix chaperone, Hsp78, was present. Deletion of HSP78 gene did not affect fragmentation of mitochondria upon heat stress, but significantly inhibited ability to restore mitochondrial network. Changes of mitochondrial morphology correlated with aggregation of mitochondrial proteins. On the other hand, recovery of mitochondrial network correlated with disappearance of protein aggregates and reactivation of enzymatic activity of a model thermo-sensitive protein: mitochondrial DNA polymerase. Since protein disaggregation and refolding is mediated by Hsp78 chaperone collaborating with Hsp70 chaperone system, we postulate that effect of Hsp78 on mitochondrial morphology upon recovery after heat shock is mediated by its ability to restore activity of unknown protein(s) responsible for maintenance of mitochondrial morphology.

Abstract: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited as a protein–DNA complex (the nucleoid). Proteins associated with the nucleoid are not only components directly involved in maintenance and propagation of mtDNA but can also be bi-functional enzymes whose metabolic activities are not directly related to mtDNA stability. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, one such enzyme, Ilv5p is required for branch chain amino acid biosynthesis but also associates with the nucleoid. Deletions of ILV5 lead not only to metabolic defects but also to destabilization of mtDNA. Further, minor overproduction of Ilv5p stabilizes mtDNA in strains lacking Abf2p, a major mtDNA binding and packaging protein. Here we show that Ilv5p binds double-stranded DNA in vitro and is unaffected by the presence of saturating concentrations of Abf2p. In cells lacking Abf2p the amount of Ilv5p associated with the nucleoid increases significantly and is proportional to the mitochondrial concentration of Ilv5p. Altogether, we conclude that direct binding of Ilv5p can aid in the maintenance and stabilization of mtDNA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]