1932

Abstract

Abstract

The mitochondrion was originally a free-living prokaryotic organism, which explains the presence of a compact mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in contempory mammalian cells. The genome encodes for key subunits of the electron transport chain and RNA components needed for mitochondrial translation. Nuclear genes encode the enzyme systems responsible for mtDNA replication and transcription. Several of the key components of these systems are related to proteins replicating and transcribing DNA in bacteriophages. This observation has led to the proposition that some genes required for DNA replication and transcription were acquired together from a phage early in the evolution of the eukaryotic cell, already at the time of the mitochondrial endosymbiosis. Recent years have seen a rapid development in our molecular understanding of these machineries, but many aspects still remain unknown.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.biochem.76.060305.152028
2007-07-07
2024-03-28
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.biochem.76.060305.152028
Loading
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.biochem.76.060305.152028
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error