We aim to understand the molecular function of mitochondrial contact sites, allowing the communication between the two mitochondrial membranes. This actually is a prerequisite to grasp the function for mitochondrial biogenesis and thus, cell viability. We discovered a new contact site between the mitochondrial inner and outer membrane created by Cqd1 and Om14-Por1.
Our data suggests that this site might assist in lipid import like phosphatidic acid. Based on the identification of the MICOS complex, we contributed to get a deeper understanding of how mitochondrial membrane architecture is generated. This allowed us to develop a working model that explains how the two forms of mitochondrial cristae, lamellar and tubular cristae are formed.
Our research was done in yeast in the past. However, we are convinced that the formation of correct mitochondrial architecture is important for higher eukaryotes too. So the next step in our research is analyzing the role of mitochondrial architecture elements in more complex models such as primary neurons.
