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Mitochondrial protein translocases for survival and wellbeing
Author(s) -
Sokol Anna Magdalena,
Sztolsztener Malgorzata Eliza,
Wasilewski Michal,
Heinz Eva,
Chacinska Agnieszka
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2014.05.028
Subject(s) - mitochondrion , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , neurodegeneration , dnaja3 , mitochondrial biogenesis , biogenesis , model organism , yeast , organism , mitochondrial fusion , saccharomyces cerevisiae , mitochondrial dna , genetics , gene , medicine , disease , pathology
Mitochondria are involved in many essential cellular activities. These broad functions explicate the need for the well‐orchestrated biogenesis of mitochondrial proteins to avoid death and pathological consequences, both in unicellular and more complex organisms. Yeast as a model organism has been pivotal in identifying components and mechanisms that drive the transport and sorting of nuclear‐encoded mitochondrial proteins. The machinery components that are involved in the import of mitochondrial proteins are generally evolutionarily conserved within the eukaryotic kingdom. However, topological and functional differences have been observed. We review the similarities and differences in mitochondrial translocases from yeast to human. Additionally, we provide a systematic overview of the contribution of mitochondrial import machineries to human pathologies, including cancer, mitochondrial diseases, and neurodegeneration.