Microbes influencing mitochondrial function

A Journal of Postdoctoral Research.

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ISSN : 2328-9791

Microbes influencing mitochondrial function

Noushin Nabavi

University of California

Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, UCSF, San Francisco 94107, USA

noushin.nabavi@ucsf.edu

The powerhouse of eukaryotic cells or the mitochondrion is a membrane bound organelle with several unique features differentiating it from other organelles. They have their own independent genome, their numbers vary widely by organism and tissue type, and in addition to supplying energy in the form of ATP, mitochondria is also the site of signaling for many cellular processes from growth and differentiation to cell cycle and cell death. Dysfunction of mitochondria has been implicated in many mitochondrial diseases as well as cardiac dysfunction and aging. Liu et al (Ying, Buck et al. 2014) demonstrate novel effects of microbial metabolites on the activation of surveillance pathways in mitochondria in nematode worms in order to initiate mitochondrial repair. Human physiology also relies on complex interactions with multiple species of microbes and perhaps also uses similar tactics to respond and change the behavior of our cells.