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Energy transduction anchors genes in organelles

Allen, John LU ; Puthiyaveetil, Sujith LU ; Ström, Jörgen LU and Allen, Carol LU (2005) In BioEssays 27(4). p.426-435
Abstract
The work of mitochondria and chloroplasts is energy transduction in respiration and photosynthesis. The physico-chemical mechanisms of bioenergetics do not directly involve genes and heredity, and furthermore, redox chemistry is intrinsically mutagenic. Thus the small, functional genomes of mitochondria and chloroplasts are an oddity. Although extensively sequenced and catalogued, cytoplasmic genomes are still not explained. Genomic lethargy is not the answer. Some genes linger from the bacterial ancestors of these organelles, true, but most have left, and new ones arrive. There is a mounting case for a massive and indiscriminate intracellular gene transfer between organelles and the cell nucleus, with the frequency of relocation being... (More)
The work of mitochondria and chloroplasts is energy transduction in respiration and photosynthesis. The physico-chemical mechanisms of bioenergetics do not directly involve genes and heredity, and furthermore, redox chemistry is intrinsically mutagenic. Thus the small, functional genomes of mitochondria and chloroplasts are an oddity. Although extensively sequenced and catalogued, cytoplasmic genomes are still not explained. Genomic lethargy is not the answer. Some genes linger from the bacterial ancestors of these organelles, true, but most have left, and new ones arrive. There is a mounting case for a massive and indiscriminate intracellular gene transfer between organelles and the cell nucleus, with the frequency of relocation being comparable to that of mutation. Nevertheless, a few organellar proteins, all working at the core of bioenergetics, always seem to keep the genes encoding them close at hand. Stability amid flux suggests the invisible hand of selection. Selection for what? There are clues, and the beginnings of experimental support, for the theory that expression of mitochondrial and chloroplast genes is regulated by the function of their gene products. For safe and efficient energy transduction, genes in organelles are in the right place at the right time. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
BioEssays
volume
27
issue
4
pages
426 - 435
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • wos:000228041600010
  • pmid:15770674
  • scopus:17844382386
  • pmid:15770674
ISSN
0265-9247
DOI
10.1002/bies.20194
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3788a9fe-5319-4ea2-afd5-00acf5ebcb6b (old id 152496)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:38:07
date last changed
2022-01-26 07:54:22
@article{3788a9fe-5319-4ea2-afd5-00acf5ebcb6b,
  abstract     = {{The work of mitochondria and chloroplasts is energy transduction in respiration and photosynthesis. The physico-chemical mechanisms of bioenergetics do not directly involve genes and heredity, and furthermore, redox chemistry is intrinsically mutagenic. Thus the small, functional genomes of mitochondria and chloroplasts are an oddity. Although extensively sequenced and catalogued, cytoplasmic genomes are still not explained. Genomic lethargy is not the answer. Some genes linger from the bacterial ancestors of these organelles, true, but most have left, and new ones arrive. There is a mounting case for a massive and indiscriminate intracellular gene transfer between organelles and the cell nucleus, with the frequency of relocation being comparable to that of mutation. Nevertheless, a few organellar proteins, all working at the core of bioenergetics, always seem to keep the genes encoding them close at hand. Stability amid flux suggests the invisible hand of selection. Selection for what? There are clues, and the beginnings of experimental support, for the theory that expression of mitochondrial and chloroplast genes is regulated by the function of their gene products. For safe and efficient energy transduction, genes in organelles are in the right place at the right time. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.}},
  author       = {{Allen, John and Puthiyaveetil, Sujith and Ström, Jörgen and Allen, Carol}},
  issn         = {{0265-9247}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{426--435}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{BioEssays}},
  title        = {{Energy transduction anchors genes in organelles}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bies.20194}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/bies.20194}},
  volume       = {{27}},
  year         = {{2005}},
}