Guangzhou Health Institute proposes a model for phase separation to regulate the spatial order of mitochondrial genomes

10 Yue 28 days, "Nature - Structural and Molecular Biology" ( Nature Structural & Molecular Biology ) online long article Article published the latest results of Liu Guo - xing group of "Phase separation drives the self-assembly of mitochondrial nucleoids for transcriptional modulation" ( Phase separation drives mitochondrial nuclear-like self-assembly for transcriptional regulation )

Phase separation ( Phase Separation , also known as phase transition) is a process and mechanism by which biological macromolecules use their own properties to spontaneously aggregate and assemble

The study found that mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) can be aggregated through phase separation; at the same time, after TFAM binds to the mitochondrial genome, the co-phase separation forms a droplet-like structure

Mitochondrial transcription is a multi-step, multi-complex transcription machine, including the assembly relay process of transcription initiation complex, transcription extension complex and termination complex

In the long-term evolution of mitochondria, the mitochondrial genome has evolved a simple way that is different from the single transcriptase of archaea to complete transcription, and it is also different from the special pathway of complex regulation of the nucleus

The energy source of all eukaryotes comes from the assembly and function of the mitochondrial genome.

This research was completed in cooperation with Tsinghua University, Southern University of Science and Technology, Peking University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, etc.

Paper link

　　Multiphase separation model of mitochondrial nuclear-like self-assembly and transcription