TY  - JOUR
A1  - Brandt, Tobias
A1  - Cavellini, Laetitia
A1  - Kühlbrandt, Werner
A1  - Cohen, Michaël M.
T1  - A mitofusin-dependent docking ring complex triggers mitochondrial fusion in vitro
T2  - eLife
N2  - Fusion of mitochondrial outer membranes is crucial for proper organelle function and involves large GTPases called mitofusins. The discrete steps that allow mitochondria to attach to one another and merge their outer membranes are unknown. By combining an in vitro mitochondrial fusion assay with electron cryo-tomography (cryo-ET), we visualize the junction between attached mitochondria isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and observe complexes that mediate this attachment. We find that cycles of GTP hydrolysis induce progressive formation of a docking ring structure around extended areas of contact. Further GTP hydrolysis triggers local outer membrane fusion at the periphery of the contact region. These findings unravel key features of mitofusin-dependent fusion of outer membranes and constitute an important advance in our understanding of how mitochondria connect and merge.
KW  - Research article
KW  - Biophysics and structural biology
KW  - Cell biology
KW  - Mitochondria
KW  - Membrane fusion
KW  - Mitofusin
KW  - Dynamin-related-proteins
KW  - Mitochondrial dynamics
KW  - Cryo-em
Y1  - 2017
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/44529
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-445294
SN  - 2050-084X
N1  - Copyright Brandt et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
VL  - 5
IS  - e14618
SP  - 1
EP  - 23
PB  - eLife Sciences Publications
CY  - Cambridge
ER  -