Modeling the Isoelectric Point of Mitochondria Using the Monte Carlo Method

Additional contributors: Greg Wolken; Edgar Arriaga (faculty mentor)Mitochondria are cellular organelles that produce energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate. Mitochondria may be affected by aging and also can be influenced by disease such as mitochondria disorders and cardiac dysfunction. A mitochondrion has inner and outer membranes that are compromised of phospholipid bilayers and proteins. The components of the outer membrane control how these organelles interact with other parts of the cell. The isoelectric point (pI) is the pH where a molecule or particle has no net charge. Mitochondria have a pI which depends on the phospholipids and proteins that make up the mitochondrial outer membrane. The goal of my project is to model the pI of the mitochondrial outer membrane consisting of phospholipids and amino acids to better understand experimental data. I have been writing a computer program that generates random compositions of amino acids and phospholipids on the surface of mitochondria by using the Monte Carlo method. This program automatically predicts the composition of the outer mitochondrial membrane based on experimental pI and produces a theoretical distribution that matches the experimental pI distribution. This result helps people understand the composition of the outer membrane of the mitochondria. I will use this program to build more detailed models of outer membranes of mitochondria.This research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)