Graphical illustration of a mitochondrionFLICKR, BIOLOGY FLASHCARDSInteractions between the nuclear genome and mitochondrial DNA are essential for proper cellular functioning, but incompatibilities between the two can lead to compromised development and fitness according to research published last month (January 31) in PLOS Genetics.
“The work is most important for its fine dissection of a mito-nuclear interaction and its consequences for phenotypic variation and fitness,” said marine biologist Ron Burton, who wasn’t involved in the study. “These results show that we can't expect to understand mitochondrial diseases by associations with mitochondrial DNA variation alone.”
Despite having their own genomes, mitochondria don’t make many of their own proteins; most are synthesized in the cytosol by cellular equipment encoded in the nucleus. Thus, the interactions of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA are critical to cellular life. But there is some evidence that mutations can disrupt the smooth-running of the interactions, resulting in incompatibilities between the two genomes.
In the new study, Colin Meiklejohn and colleagues worked with Drosophila melanogaster hybrids. Each hybrid ...
