Attempts to create eukaryotic cells without mitochondria by engineering the iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis systems

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K19340
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Molecular and Genome biology and related fields
• Research Institution: Saitama University
• Principal Investigator: Takahashi Yasuhiro 埼玉大学, 理工学研究科, 教授 (10154874)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 中井 由実 大阪医科大学, 医学部, 講師 (80268193)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 鉄硫黄クラスター / ミトコンドリア

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The essential function in mitochondria and mitosomes is the biosynthesis of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters by the mitochondrial ISC machinery. By contrast, another type of Fe-S cluster biosynthesis system is brought to the cytosol by horizontal gene transfer in the eukaryotic species that survives without mitochondria (Monocercomonoides sp.). In this study, we attempted to bypass the mitochondrial ISC machinery in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by engineering the Fe-S cluster biosynthesis systems. We expressed the components of the bacterial NIF machinery in yeast cytosol, and various conditions were examined to delete the entire ISC machinery. We found that some of the essential ISC components could be deleted, although some remained still essential.

Free Research Field

分子生物学、生化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、真核細胞における鉄硫黄（Fe-S）クラスターの生合成系ならびにその局在性を人為的に操作・改変することにより、ミトコンドリアにおける生合成系（ISCマシナリー）の必須機能をバイパスさせることを試みた。これをバイパスさせることができれば、ミトコンドリア全体をも欠失させることが可能になると期待したが、ISC成分の中には必須性を回避できないもの（NFS1）が存在することが判明した。