| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Mitochondrial morphology is regulated by their fusion and division, that is important for maintaining mitochondrial function. In addition, mitochondrial division is also required for mitophagy. Drp1 which is main player of mitochondrial division have been believed to be required for mitochondrial division during mitophagy, so far. However, I have reported that mitophagy is normally detected in the absence of Drp1. In this context, small mitochondrion destined for degradation is divided simultaneously with closing of the isolation membrane, but independently of Drp1. Aiming to clarify the molecular mechanism of the novel mitochondrial division, I focused on mitophagy receptors and identified two mitophagy receptors as essential factors for hypoxia- and iron depletion-induced mitophagy. During mitophagy, they gradually accumulated in between the isolation membrane and mitochondria.
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