doi:10.2533/chimia.2014.749 Parasite Reveals Mitochondrial Inheritance Machinery

Mitochondria are double membrane bounded organelles that together with the nucleus define the eukaryotic cell. Their main function is energy production by oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondria derive from bacteria, which during evolution have gradually been converted into organelles. The bacterial descent of mitochondria is reflected by their genome which encodes a small number of essential proteins. Every eukaryote therefore needs mechanisms that during cell division correctly distribute mitochondria and their genomes to the daughter cells. In a typical eukaryotic cell this distribution process is however difficult to study because it contains many dozens of mitochondria each of which carries multiple mitochondrial genomes. The unicellular flagellar parasite Trypanosoma brucei, best known for causingAfrican sleeping sickness, provides a way out: unlike other eukaryotes it has a singlemitochondrionwith a singl