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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

An In Vitro Approach to Study Mitochondrial Dysfunction: A Cybrid Model
Published on: March 9, 2022
The thankless task of playing genetics with mammalian mitochondrial DNA: a 30-year review
M Pilar Bayona-Bafaluy1, Patricio Fernández-Silva, José A Enríquez
1Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad de Zaragoza, Miguel Servet 177, Zaragoza 50013, Spain.
Abstract:
The advances obtained through the genetic tools available in yeast for studying the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) biogenesis and in particular the role of the mtDNA encoded genes, strongly contrast with the very limited benefits that similar approaches have generated for the study of mammalian mtDNA. Here we review the use of the genetic manipulation in mammalian mtDNA, its difficulty and the main types of mutants accumulated in the past 30 years and the information derived from them. We also point out the need for a substantial improvement in this field in order to obtain new tools for functional genetic studies and for the generation of animal models of mtDNA-linked diseases.
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