Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Analysis of the Expression and Complexes Assembly of the Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Proteins in the Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Published on: May 2, 2025
Mitochondrial dysfunction resulting from the absence of mitochondrial porin in Neurospora crassa
William A T Summers1, John A Wilkins, Ravi C Dwivedi
1Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, 301 Buller Building, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2N2. hopperq2@gmail.com
Abstract:
Porin, the voltage-dependent anion-selective channel (VDAC) in the mitochondrial outer membrane, contributes to metabolism and apoptosis. VDAC function was investigated in Neurospora, an obligate aerobe with a single porin. Porinless strains are viable, with cold-sensitive growth, cytochrome deficiencies and overexpression of alternative oxidase. iTRAQ labeling of mitochondria from a porinless strain and its progenitor revealed a small group of proteins with altered expression levels in the mutant organelles. Porinless Neurospora appears to compensate not by inducing alternative pores, but by altering electron flow and nucleotide metabolism. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms contribute to the response, reflecting the extent of porin influence.
Related Concept Videos
ATP Synthase: Mechanism
Structure of Porins
Porin Insertion in the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane
Three models describe the assembly of porins by the SAM complex and their insertion into the outer membrane. Model 1 suggests that porins are assembled outside the SAM channel as the...
Mitochondria
The Inner Mitochondrial Membrane
Translocation of Proteins into the Mitochondria
Sorting of outer membrane proteins:
Mitochondrial outer membrane proteins are of two types: the transmembrane, beta-barrel porins, and the membrane-anchored, alpha-helical proteins. Beta-barrel porin precursors are translocated by the TOM complex and inserted into the outer mitochondrial membrane by the SAM complex. In contrast,...

