Author:
Deng Y.,Mieczkowski M.,Marko M.,Buttle K.,Rath B.K.,Mannella C.A.
Abstract
The mitochondrial inner membrane contains the machinery of oxidative phosphorylation. This membrane has invaginations called cristae which vary widely in shape between organisms and between tissues in the same organism. Electron microscopic tomography indicates that, despite this pleiomorphism, there is a common design feature, namely, the cristal membranes connect to each other and to the periphery of the inner membrane by tubular regions 30-40 nm in diameter. This finding has important implications for the internal diffusion of ions, metabolites and macromolecules within mitochondria.In some types of mitochondria, the cristae exhibit periodicity.1 In the case of the amoeba Chaos carolinensis, detailed analysis and modeling of thin-section images of mitochondria in starved cells indicate that the highly curved cristae correspond to periodic cubic surfaces. We are undertaking electron microscopic tomographic and crystallographic approaches to more thoroughly characterize these membrane phases and, in particular, establish the continuity of the internal compartments which they define.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Reference7 articles.
1. Deng, Y. , PhD thesis (1998), University at Buffalo (SUNY)
2. Electron Tomography of Neuronal Mitochondria: Three-Dimensional Structure and Organization of Cristae and Membrane Contacts
3. The Structure of Isolated Mitochondria
4. Reconsidering mitochondrial structure: new views of an old organelle
5. This research is funded by NSF grant MCB-9506113 and utilizes the facilities of the Biological Microscopy and Image Reconstruction Resource which is funded by NIH grant RR01219 and NSF grant BIR-9219043.
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