Genetic Identification of a novel cell cycle checkpoint that monitors damages in mitochondrial dynamics

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26440188
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Genetics/Chromosome dynamics
• Research Institution: Kyoto Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Inoue Yoshihiro 京都工芸繊維大学, 応用生物学系, 准教授 (90201938)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 山口 政光 京都工芸繊維大学, 応用生物学系, 教授 (00182460)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: ショウジョウバエ / ミトコンドリア / 細胞周期 / ダイナミクス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that engage in repeated cycles of fusion and fission. It serves to intermix the contents among mitochondria and to maintain a quality of a mitochondria population in a cell. In this study, we showed that the meiotic entry of a primary spermatocyte is inhibited when sever damages in mitochondrial DNA occurred. Activation of CDK1 failed to be observed in the arrested cells. The nuclear to cytoplasm transport of cyclin B was perturbed in the cells. We revealed that there is a checkpoint mechanism that monitors a condition of mitochondria and arrests the meiotic cell cycle in the presence of their abnormalities, such as mitochondrial DNA damage. To avoid production of abnormal sperm, such a specific checkpoint mechanism has been possibly provided in germline cells but not in somatic cells in Drosophila.

Free Research Field

発生遺伝学