Gene expression changes of mitochondrial morphology genes in MMC morphants (black) and Opa1 morphants (grey) normalized to MMC morphant levels.

<p>Significant increases in gene expression of mitochondrial fusion proteins (<b>A</b>) <i>opa1</i> (a, p = 0.003), (<b>B</b>) <i>mfn1</i> (b, p = 0.001) and (<b>C</b>) <i>mfn2</i> (c, p = 0.01) were observed in Opa1 morphants compared to MMC morphants. No differences were observed for (<b>D</b>) <i>drp1</i>, a mitochondrial fission protein. Error bars are shown +/− SEM, n = 5. P-values obtained by ANOVA.