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Mitochondria unite to survive

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Starvation of animals or cells triggers autophagic degradation of cell contents to retrieve nutrients, but, paradoxically, mitochondria enlarge. This is now shown to result from inhibition of mitochondrial fission through PKA-mediated phosphorylation of the GTPase DRP1. Elongation of mitochondria optimizes ATP production and spares them from autophagy-mediated destruction.

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Figure 1: Starvation and stress-induced elongation of mitochondria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Craig Blackstone is at the Neurogenetics Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA,

    Craig Blackstone

  2. Chuang Rung Chang is at the Institute of Biotechnology and Department of Life Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan,

    Chuang-Rung Chang

Authors
  1. Craig Blackstone
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  2. Chuang-Rung Chang
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Correspondence to Craig Blackstone.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Blackstone, C., Chang, CR. Mitochondria unite to survive. Nat Cell Biol 13, 521–522 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb0511-521

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