Mitochondria

Bodunrin O. Ottu
Department of Cell Biology and Genetics,
Room 203, Faculty of Science,
University of Lagos.
E: bottu@unilag.edu.ng

CBG 211
February, 2018
Learning outcomes
At the end of the lecture, student should be able to understand
• Historical events that led to the discovery of the mitochondrion
• The structure of mitochondria
• Functions of the mitochondria
• Diseases that result from abnormal mitochondria structure and function
Introduction
 Cell biology is the study of processes carried out by individual cells such as
cell division, organelle inheritance and biogenesis, signal transduction and
motility.
Introduction
 Cell biology is the study of processes carried out by individual cells
such as cell division, organelle inheritance and biogenesis, signal
transduction and motility.

 Recallthat there are three domains of life -

Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryota.
 Archaea and Bacteria (unicellular
prokaryotes) lack a nucleus and other
organelles.
 Eukaryotes, unicellular or multicellular,
have a nucleus and other membrane-
bound organelles.
 Eukaryotes- majorly Fungi, Plants and Animals

Bacterial cell
The Mitochondrion
 The term mitochondrion has Greek origin.
Mitos- ‘‘thread’’ and Chondrion- ‘‘grain-like or granule’’
 Power house of eukaryotic cells.
 Primary sites of ATP synthesis- from the oxidation of
carbohydrates, fats and amino acids.
 Mitochondria are organelles surrounded by two
membranes that differ in their protein and lipid
composition.
 The inner membrane and the matrix contain many
important enzymes of energy metabolism.
 Key role in apoptosis (programmed cell death)
 Mitochondria reproduce by binary fission.
 Mitochondria are about the size of bacteria, 0.5 - 2 µm in
diameter and 7 µm in length
 They are not clearly visible under the light microscope
The Mitochondrion

Filamentous

Vesicular Granular

Rod-
like
Club-
Racket
shaped

Ring or
round
(Verma and Agarwal, 2012)
Cellular localization of mitochondria
 Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that
can move, fuse, and divide according to
the needs of the cell.

 The number of mitochondria per cell and

the number of cristae per mitochondrion
are related to the energy requirement for
the function carried out by that cell type.

 Cells with intense metabolic activity and

high energy (ATP) needs: Muscle for
contraction, sperm tail, flagella, cilia.
The Endosymbiotic theory
 How did the mitochondria evolve?
 Endosymbiotic theory about 2BYA
The Endosymbiotic theory

Nelson and Cox, 2005.

 Historical events that led to the discovery of the Mito.
1850 Kölliker first reported the arrangement of granules in the
sarcoplasm of striated muscle of insect cells.

1890 The granules, identified by Kölliker, were later called sarcosomes

by Retzius.

1900 Michaelis showed that Janus green B (an oxidation-reduction Albert von Kölliker (1817 – 1905)
indicator dye) is a vital stain for mitochondria. Swiss Zoologist

1913 Warburg showed that the capacity to consume oxygen resided in

particulate components of the cell.
Leonor Michaelis (1875 –1949)
German Biochemist

Otto H. Warburg (1883 –1970)

German Physiologist, Medical doctor and Nobel laureate.
 Albert Claude (1899 – 1983)
Belgian medical doctor, Cell Biologist and Nobel Laureate

1850 Kölliker first reported the arrangement of granules in the

sarcoplasm of striated muscle of insect cells.

1890 The granules, identified by Kölliker, were later called sarcosomes

by Retzius.

1900 Michaelis showed that Janus green B (an oxidation-reduction

indicator dye) is a vital stain for mitochondria.

1913 Warburg showed that the capacity to consume oxygen resided in

particulate components of the cell.

1934 Bensley and Hoerr attempted to isolate mitochondria by differential

centrifugation from liver homogenates.

1946 Claude successfully fractionated liver homogenates using differential

centrifugation and identified a large granule that was made of
mitochondria and secretory granules. He used alkaline saline for
resuspension of homogenates.
 Historical events that led to the discovery of the Mito.
1850 Kölliker first reported the arrangement of granules in the
sarcoplasm of striated muscle of insect cells.
1890 The granules, identified by Kölliker, were later called sarcosomes
by Retzius.

1900 Michaelis showed that Janus green B (an oxidation-reduction

indicator dye) is a vital stain for mitochondria.
1913 Warburg showed that the capacity to consume oxygen resided in
particulate components of the cell.
1934 Bensley and Hoerr attempted to isolate mitochondria by differential
centrifugation from liver homogenates.
1946 Claude successfully fractionated liver homogenates using differential
centrifugation and identified a large granule that was made of
mitochondria and secretory granules. He used alkaline saline for
resuspension of homogenates.
1948 Hogeboom et al. isolated intact mitochondria from rat liver and
found that 0.88 M sucrose was a suitable medium for isolating
mitochondria in its normal form. They reported the presence of
cytochrome oxidases in mitochondria.
 Historical events that led to the discovery of the Mito.

Eugene P. Kennedy
(1919 – 2011)

Albert L. Lehninger
(1917 –1986)

1948 Kennedy and Lehninger found that mitochondria are the sites of the
TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Mitochondria
was thus regarded as the principal site for energy generation.

1953 Sjostrand, F. S. and Palade, G. were the first to publish electron

micrographs of mitochondrial structure.

Palade, 1953
 Mitochondria are organised into
four distinct compartments
The Structure of a Mitochondrion  Outer membrane
 Intermembrane space
 Inner membrane
 Matrix

Hardin et al., 2012.

A mitochondrion of a bat pancreas cell as seen by electron microscopy (TEM).
Beckers World of the Cell. 8th Ed.
 Mitochondria are organised into
four distinct compartments
The Structure of a Mitochondrion  Outer membrane
 Intermembrane space
 Inner membrane
 Matrix

Hardin et al., 2012.

A mitochondrion of a bat pancreas cell as seen by electron microscopy (TEM).
Beckers World of the Cell. 8th Ed.
The Outer membrane
 Theouter mitochondrial membrane (OMM)
contains large amounts of porin.

 Porinis also known as voltage dependent

anion channel (VDAC).

 Porins
or VDAC’s are membrane channel that
allow for the passage of small hydrophilic
molecules such as sugars, ions, amino acids
and metabolites (<5000 daltons) into the
mitochondria.
The Intermembrane space
 The space between the inner and outer
mitochondrial membranes is called the
intermembrane space.

 The space between the inner and outer

mitochondrial membranes is approx 70Å.

 Ithas a high proton concentration because

protons from the ETC are pumped into it.
The Inner membrane
 The inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) is
highly impermeable. Why?

 IMM uniquely contains Cardiolipin, a phospholipid

that makes it impermeable to ions.

 Cardiolipin is important as it organises the

formation of respiratory chain complexes in the
IMM

 Mitochondrial damage and depolarization causes

cardiolipin translocation to the OMM.
The Inner membrane cont’d
A central function of mitochondria is production
of the cellular energy currency (ATP) through
oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS).

 OXPHOS is carried out by five enzyme

complexes in the IMM.

 IMM has many invaginations known as Cristae.

 Possess ribosomes, circular DNA
The Matrix 
to manufacture their own RNAs
and proteins.

 Contains metabolic enzymes of

TCA or Krebs cycle.

 Contains cristae which increases

the surface area of the IMM.

 Cristae can be tubular, vesicular

or flat.

 FoF1 complex (ATP synthase )

Hardin et al., 2012.
BREAK TIME