2020/03/18 by Fabrizia Stavru, Jan Riemer, Aaron R. Jex +1 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Immunology and Microbiology · #Apoptosis #Autophagy #Bacteria #Biology #Cell biology #Genetics #Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies #Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences #Intracellular #Intracellular parasite #Microbiology #Mitochondrion #Mitophagy #Organelle #Vector-borne infectious diseases
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/cmi.13189
openalex publication_date 2020/03/18 · openalex created_date 2020/03/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Mitochondria are key eukaryotic organelles that perform several essential functions. Not surprisingly, many intracellular bacteria directly or indirectly target mitochondria, interfering with innate immunity, energy production or apoptosis, to make the host cell a more hospitable niche for bacterial replication. The alphaproteobacterium Midichloria mitochondrii has taken mitochondrial targeting to another level by physically colonising mitochondria, as shown by transmission electron micrographs of bacteria residing in the mitochondrial intermembrane space. This unique localization provokes a number of questions around the mechanisms allowing, and reasons driving intramitochondrial tropism. We suggest possible scenarios that could lead to this peculiar localization and hypothesize potential costs and benefits of mitochondrial colonisation for the bacterium and its host.