Characterization and biologic activity of Mrx3 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondria

• Grant number: 23/11138-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Biochemistry of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Mario Henrique de Barros
• Grantee: Marcelo Mesa Costa Lima
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Oxidative phosphorylation is a central mechanism of ATP synthesis that in Eukaryota occurs compartmentalized in the mitochondria. These organelles of endosymbiotic origin have their own DNA, called mtDNA, which replicates independently of the cell cycle and is packaged with proteins, forming spheroid granules physically associated with the inner membrane called nucleoids. mtDNA encodes few proteins in a species-specific manner. In general, these proteins are hydrophobic and membrane-integrating and comprise the central catalytic structures of oxidative phosphorylation. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mitoribosomes are associated with two varieties of protein complexes with components involved in RNA metabolism and translation, which are located associated with the inner membrane and are called MIOREX. Among the components in the MIOREX complexes is a set of previously unknown proteins called Mrx1-21. A better understanding of these proteins can provide better knowledge about mitochondrial gene expression, with importance extending from basic science to applications in the treatment of pathologies that affect aerobic energy metabolism. In all the context presented, the purpose of this project is to characterize the activity of the mitochondrial protein Mrx3, encoded in the MRX3 gene of the nuclear genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae