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Mitochondrial DNA Transport in Drosophila Neurons

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Axonal Transport

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2431))

Abstract

Mitochondria are essential organelles that generate energy and play vital roles in cellular metabolism. The small circular mitochondrial genome encodes key components of the mitochondrial respiratory apparatus. Depletion of, or mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cause mitochondrial dysfunction and disease. mtDNA is packaged into nucleoids, which are transported throughout the cell within mitochondria. Efficient transport of nucleoids is essential in neurons, where mitochondrial function is required locally at synapses. Here I describe methods for visualization of nucleoids in Drosophila neurons using a GFP fusion of the mitochondrial transcription factor TFAM. TFAM-GFP, together with mCherry-labeled mitochondria, was used to visualize nucleoids in fixed larval segmental nerves. I also describe how these tools can be used for live imaging of nucleoid dynamics. Using Drosophila as a model system, these methods will enable further characterization and analysis of nucleoid dynamics in neurons.

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Acknowledgments

Work in this area in my laboratory is currently funded by grants from Alzheimer’s research UK (ARUK-IRG2017A-2), the NC3Rs (NC/V001884/1), and the MRC (MR/V013130/1). I thank the Wohl Cellular Imaging Centre at King’s College London for help with light microscopy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, UK

    Joseph M. Bateman

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  1. Joseph M. Bateman
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Correspondence to Joseph M. Bateman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK

    Alessio Vagnoni

1 Electronics Supplementary Materials

Movie 1

Movie of stills shown in Fig. 2. (AVI 12734 kb)

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Bateman, J.M. (2022). Mitochondrial DNA Transport in Drosophila Neurons. In: Vagnoni, A. (eds) Axonal Transport. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2431. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1990-2_21

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1990-2_21

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1989-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1990-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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