Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2025

Analysis of the Expression and Complexes Assembly of the Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Proteins in the Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Published on: May 2, 2025
A Key Role of the EMC Complex for Mitochondrial Respiration and Quiescence in Fission Yeasts
Modesto Berraquero1, Víctor A Tallada1, Juan Jimenez1
1Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, Universidad Pablo de Olavide/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Seville, Spain.
Abstract:
In eukaryotes, oxygen consumption is mainly driven by the respiratory activity of mitochondria, which generates most of the cellular energy that sustains life. This parameter provides direct information about mitochondrial activity of all aerobic biological systems. Using the Seahorse analyzer instrument, we show here that deletion of the oca3/emc2 gene (oca3Δ) encoding the Emc2 subunit of the ER membrane complex (EMC), a conserved chaperone/insertase that aids membrane protein biogenesis in the ER, severely affects oxygen consumption rates and quiescence survival in Schizosaccharomyces pombe yeast cells. Remarkably, the respiratory defect of the oca3Δ mutation (EMC dysfunction) is rescued synergistically by disruption of ergosterol biosynthesis (erg5Δ) and the action of the membrane fluidizing agent tween 20, suggesting a direct role of membrane fluidity and sterol composition in mitochondrial respiration in the fission yeast.
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