Investigation of the compositional, positional and functional heterogeneity of MICOS clusters in single mammalian cells (P01)

• Subject Area: Cell Biology
• Term: from 2016 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 264061860

The mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system (MICOS) is a large multi-subunit complex in the inner membrane of mitochondria that is required for the maintenance of crista junctions. The MICOS complex is an interaction hub that connects the mitochondrial inner membrane to outer membrane proteins and presumably also to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The MICOS clusters exhibit a well-ordered arrangement in the mitochondria. We will investigate to what extent mitochondrial movements as well as fission and fusion dynamics and interactions with cellular structures such as the ER influence the inner-mitochondrial distribution of MICOS. Thereby this project aims to investigate the compositional and functional heterogeneity of MICOS clusters with respect to their sub-mitochondrial localizations using optical nanoscopy and electron microscopy.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1190: Compartmental Gates and Contact Sites in Cells
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Stefan Jakobs