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Mechanistic Study of The Mitochondrial Fission Complex

Yan Zhang

Postdoctoral scholar, Division of Biology, Caltech

2:00PM - 3:00PM

January 22, 2009 (Thursday)

Noyes 153

Mitochondria undergo frequent and regulated fusion and fission. The balance of these two opposite processes control mitochondrial morphology and function. Mutations in genes essential for mitochondrial fusion are responsible for two types of neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2A and autosomal dominant optic atrophy. Mice lacking any one of the mitochondrial fusion genes die embryonically. On the other hand, mitochondrial fission is an essential process during human development and plays a crucial step in the execution of apoptosis in many cells. The research interest in our lab is to understand the role of mitochondrial dynamics in normal cell physiology and human diseases. In this presentation, I will focus on our new findings in the mechanism of the fission-complex recruitment to the mitochondria.