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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

Understanding the Molecular Mechanism of Mgm1 Function in Mitochondrial Dynamics

Rujiviphat, Jarungjit 22 August 2014 (has links)
Given the debilitating effect that mitochondrial dysfunction has on human health, it is important to understand mitochondrial dynamics that are vital for the maintenance of mitochondrial function, genome, morphology, and quality control. Mitochondrial dynamics result from a balance in mitochondrial fusion and fission. Although the mechanism and regulation of mitochondrial fission are largely elucidated, less is known about mitochondrial fusion. Mgm1 is a protein that mediates mitochondrial fusion in yeast. However, the molecular mechanism of Mgm1 function in mediating mitochondrial fusion is unclear. In this thesis, first, I show that Mgm1 contains a lipid-binding domain by demonstrating that purified Mgm1 has lipid-binding activity and by identifying mutations in conserved residues that abrogate these interactions. Second, I show that Mgm1 assembles into hexameric rings and undergoes nucleotide-dependent structural transitions that, I believe, initiate membrane fusion. Lastly, I demonstrate that Mgm1 exhibits membrane-remodeling activities that are crucial for the tethering and lipid-mixing steps in the membrane fusion event. Together, I propose a mechanistic model of Mgm1 function in mediating mitochondrial fusion that advances the fields of mitochondrial biology, cellular protein-membrane dynamics, and the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases.

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