Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 29, 2026

Assessment of Submitochondrial Protein Localization in Budding Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Published on: July 19, 2021
BRET-Based Mitochondrial Subcompartment Localization Biosensors Reveal the Impact of Pesticides and Food Additives on
Abdulrasheed O Abdulrahman1, Mathias Lescuyer1, Rami El Zein1
1Université Paris Cité, Institut Cochin, INSERM, CNRS , Paris75014, France.
Abstract:
The last decade has witnessed a marked increase in interest in mitochondria, whose dysfunction leads to the development of multiple diseases. Mitochondria are unique as they are highly compartmentalized organelles that are composed of two closely apposed membranes. Here, we developed a series of bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)-based localization sensors that accurately report the localization and orientation of mitochondrial proteins (TOM20, TOM22, VDAC1, MICU1, ATP5F1C, OTC, and SIRT3) within their respective mitochondrial compartments. These biosensors also dynamically detect stressor-induced translocation of cytosolic proteins, such as Drp1 and BAX, to mitochondria. Screening of a series of endocrine disruptors with our BRET sensors uncovered deleterious effects of paraquat, di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol, and 4-hydroxynonenal on mitochondrial protein localization. Altogether, the localization sensors provide noninvasive tools to monitor mitochondrial protein localization in a time-resolved manner, with nanometer-scale resolution, in intact cells exposed to diverse cellular stressors.
Related Concept Videos
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,...
Mitochondrial Protein Sorting
Most of these mitochondrial proteins are encoded by the nucleus and imported to the mitochondria as unfolded or loosely folded precursors. Mitochondrial precursors...
Mitochondrial Precursor Proteins
Most of the mitochondrial precursors...
Mitochondrial Membranes

