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Maintenance of functional mitochondria is vital for optimal cell performance and survival. This is accomplished by distinct mechanisms, of which preservation of mitochondrial protein homeostasis fulfills a pivotal role. In plants, inner membrane-embedded i -AAA protease, FTSH4, contributes to the mitochondrial proteome surveillance. Owing to the limited knowledge of FTSH4's in vivo substrates, very little is known about the pathways and mechanisms directly controlled by this protease. Here, we applied substrate trapping coupled with mass spectrometry-based peptide identification in order to extend the list of FTSH4's physiological substrates and interaction partners. Our analyses revealed, among several putative targets of FTSH4, novel (mitochondrial pyruvate carrier 4 (MPC4) and Pam18-2) and known (Tim17-2) substrates of this protease. Furthermore, we demonstrate that FTSH4 degrades oxidatively damaged proteins in mitochondria. Our report provides new insights into the function of FTSH4 in the maintenance of plant mitochondrial proteome., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Mitochondria play the fundamental role in energy production and integration of many important metabolic and signalling pathways, which makes them essential for the function of a cell. The optimal operation of mitochondria depends on the qualitative and quantitative composition of the organellar proteins - the proteome. To maintain the homeostasis of the mitochondrial proteome, mitochondria developed a protein quality control system, which acts on the molecular, cellular and organellar levels. ATP-dependent proteases constitute a key element of this system. It consists of Lon/PIM1 and ClpXP proteases located in the mitochondrial matrix as well as AAA proteases anchored in the inner mitochondrial membrane. The ATP-dependent proteases degrade misfolded, damaged or not assembled proteins. These enzymes are also involved in complex regulatory mechanisms such as mitochondrial translation, fusion and response to stress. Lack of any of ATP-dependent proteases leads to mitochondrial dysfunction and the development of many major diseases in humans. This work summarizes the current knowledge of the ATP-dependent proteolytic system in mitochondria in different organisms.

Mitochondria have to import most of their proteins in order to fulfill a multitude of metabolic functions. Sophisticated import machineries mediate targeting and translocation of preproteins from the cytosol and subsequent sorting into their suborganellar destination. The mode of action of these machineries has been considered for long time as a static and constitutively active process. However, recent studies revealed that the mitochondrial protein import machinery is subject to intense regulatory mechanisms that include direct control of protein flux by metabolites and metabolic signalling cascades., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mitochondria play central roles in cellular energy conversion, metabolism, and apoptosis. Mitochondria import more than 1000 different proteins from the cytosol. It is unknown if the mitochondrial protein import machinery is connected to the cell division cycle. We found that the cyclin-dependent kinase Cdk1 stimulated assembly of the main mitochondrial entry gate, the translocase of the outer membrane (TOM), in mitosis. The molecular mechanism involved phosphorylation of the cytosolic precursor of Tom6 by cyclin Clb3-activated Cdk1, leading to enhanced import of Tom6 into mitochondria. Tom6 phosphorylation promoted assembly of the protein import channel Tom40 and import of fusion proteins, thus stimulating the respiratory activity of mitochondria in mitosis. Tom6 phosphorylation provides a direct means for regulating mitochondrial biogenesis and activity in a cell cycle-specific manner., (Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.)

Most mitochondrial proteins are imported by the translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane (TOM). Tom22 functions as central receptor and transfers preproteins to the import pore. Casein kinase 2 (CK2) constitutively phosphorylates the cytosolic precursor of Tom22 at Ser44 and Ser46 and, thus, promotes its import. It is unknown whether Tom22 is regulated under different metabolic conditions. We report that CK1, which is involved in glucose-induced signal transduction, is bound to mitochondria. CK1 phosphorylates Tom22 at Thr57 and stimulates the assembly of Tom22 and Tom20. In contrast, protein kinase A (PKA), which is also activated by the addition of glucose, phosphorylates the precursor of Tom22 at Thr76 and impairs its import. Thus, PKA functions in an opposite manner to CK1 and CK2. Our results reveal that three kinases regulate the import and assembly of Tom22, demonstrating that the central receptor is a major target for the posttranslational regulation of mitochondrial protein import., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)