Reconstruction of a human mitochondrial complex I mutation in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas.

in Plant Journal : for Cell & Molecular Biology (2012)

Defects in complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) are the most frequent cause of human respiratory disorders. The pathogenicity of a given human mitochondrial mutation can be difficult to demonstrate ... [more ▼]

Defects in complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) are the most frequent cause of human respiratory disorders. The pathogenicity of a given human mitochondrial mutation can be difficult to demonstrate because the mitochondrial genome harbors large numbers of polymorphic base changes that have no pathogenic significance. In addition, mitochondrial mutations are usually found in the heteroplasmic state, which could hide the biochemical effect of the mutation. We propose that the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas could be used to study such mutations because (1) respiratory-deficient mutants are viable and mitochondrial mutations are found in the homoplasmic state, (2) transformation of the mitochondrial genome is feasible, (3) Chlamydomonas complex I is close to that of humans. To illustrate that, we have introduced a Leu157Pro substitution in the Chlamydomonas ND4 subunit of complex I of two different recipient strains by biolistic transformation, demonstrating that site-directed mutagenesis of the Chlamydomonas mitochondrial genome is possible. This substitution did not lead to any respiratory enzyme defect when it is present in the heteroplasmic state in a patient presenting chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia. When present in the homoplasmic state in the alga, the mutation does not prevent the assembly of the 950 kDa whole complex I which conserves nearly all the NADH dehydrogenase activity of the peripheral arm. However, the NADH:duroquinone oxidoreductase activity is strongly reduced, suggesting that the substitution could affect ubiquinone fixation to the membrane domain. The in vitro defects are correlated in vivo with a decrease in dark respiration and growth rate. [less ▲]

Mitochondrial transformation and in vitro DNA delivery

in Genomics of Chloroplasts and Mitochondria (2012)

Mitos - Chondria et bien plus que ça ! Les désordres mitochondriaux chez l’homme et comment utiliser l’algue verte, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , pour comprendre ceux-ci.

Speech (2011)

A Forward Genetic Screen Identifies Mutants Deficient for Mitochondrial Complex I Assembly in Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii.

in Genetics (2011)

Mitochondrial Complex I is the largest multimeric enzyme of the respiratory chain. The lack of a model system with facile genetics has limited the molecular dissection of Complex I assembly. Using ... [more ▼]

Mitochondrial Complex I is the largest multimeric enzyme of the respiratory chain. The lack of a model system with facile genetics has limited the molecular dissection of Complex I assembly. Using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as an experimental system to screen for Complex I defects, we isolated, via forward genetics, amc1 to 7 nuclear mutants (for assembly of mitochondrial complex I) displaying reduced or no Complex I activity. BN-PAGE and immunoblot analyses revealed that amc3 and amc4 accumulate reduced levels of the Complex I holoenzyme (950 kDa) while all other amc mutants fail to accumulate a mature complex. In amc1, 2, 5, 6, 7, the detection of a 700 kDa subcomplex retaining NADH dehydrogenase activity indicates an arrest in the assembly process. Genetic analyses established that amc5 and amc7 are alleles of the same locus while amc1 to 4 and amc6 define distinct complementation groups. The locus defined by the amc5 and amc7 alleles corresponds to the NUOB10 gene, encoding PDSW, a subunit of the membrane arm of Complex I. This is the first report of a forward genetic screen yielding the isolation of Complex I mutants. This work illustrates the potential of using Chlamydomonas as a genetically-tractable organism to decipher Complex I manufacture. [less ▲]

Characterization of complex I mutants in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii : Role of structural subunits and identification of assembly factors.

Scientific conference (2010, January 26)

The ARG9 Gene Encodes the Plastid-Resident N-Acetyl Ornithine Aminotransferase in the Green Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

in Eukaryotic Cell (2009), 8(9), 1460-1463

Here we report the characterization of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii gene ARG9, encoding the plastid resident N-acetyl ornithine aminotransferase, which is involved in arginine synthesis. Integration of ... [more ▼]

Here we report the characterization of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii gene ARG9, encoding the plastid resident N-acetyl ornithine aminotransferase, which is involved in arginine synthesis. Integration of an engineered ARG9 cassette in the plastid chromosome of the nuclear arg9 mutant restores arginine prototrophy. This suggests that ARG9 could be used as a new selectable marker for plastid transformation. [less ▲]