Articles Related to Mitochondria

Primary coenzyme Q10 deficiency-4 (CoQ10D4) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by childhood-onset of cerebellar ataxia and exercise intolerance. Molecular pathology responsible for clinical findings is mitochondrial respiratory chain dysfunction. The main clinical manifestation involves early-onset exercise intolerance, progressive cerebellar ataxia and movement disorders. Some affected individuals develop seizures and have mild mental impairment, indicating variable severity.

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Patients admitted to the emergency room or intensive care units (ICUs) need real-time monitoring of body oxygen balance. As of today, the availability of monitoring devices that provide real-time data on tissue level of oxygen homeostasis is very limited. The involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in many pathological states such as stroke, sepsis or heart failure is calling for a real-time evaluation of this intracellular organelle. In order to avoid the deterioration of the most vital organs in the body (brain and heart), we are proposing to monitor a less vital organ, such as the urethral wall, that serves as an early warning signal for the deterioration of body oxygen balance.

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All organisms age, in the search of the universal mechanisms of aging Barja analyzed results obtained with various species of mammals and birds and concluded that only two known factors correlate in the right sense (inversely) with animal longevity in vertebrates: the long life span is associated with (a) low rates of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production, and (b) low degree of fatty acid polyunsaturation of cellular membranes including the mitochondrial ones [Barja (2014) Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 127:1-27].

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The wildlife includes undomesticated and diverse forms of floral and faunal species, which is essential for ecological balance and human survival. The poaching and illegal trade has resulted in sharp decline of many wild species of flora and fauna around the world. The need of the time therefore is to utterly focus on wildlife protection for the sustainable development of biosphere and future viability of human beings. In this review we have focused on different techniques being utilized in wildlife forensic science for identification of wildlife species as well as their geographical origin. These techniques can be employed to control the wildlife crimes and convict the criminals involved in illegal trade of wildlife flora, fauna and their products. These techniques include footprints analyses, morphological and anatomical studies,

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Comparative genomics of 12S and 16S rRNAs, cytochrome b (Cyt b) and the control region (CR) of mtDNA genome are commonly used in phylogenetics and wildlife forensics. We document the genetic characteristics and sequence variations of 12S rRNA (384 bp) in Indian civets, viz., the common palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) (n=9), small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) (n=7) and Himalayan palm civet (Paguma larvata) (n=5). The nucleotide compositions vary from 17.6% to 36.3%, and found one to two haplotypes in all three civet species. Observed sequence divergence was 0.001 to 0.002 and 0.057 to 0.110 within and between species respectively. The nucleotide diversity was 0.00102 to 0.00184. Tajima’s D value was negative (-0.097256 to -1.36240) but statistically non-significant in all three species. Based on genetic characteristics, we discuss the use of observed forensically informative nucleotide sequencing (FINS) and topology in species identification for forensic purposes among these three civet species.

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The present study was performed to determine the quality and the quantity of DNA extracted from buccal swab at two intervals to compare the DNA quality and quantity before and after brushing. Five (5) healthy males where used in the study, ten (10) Buccal swabs where collected at two intervals, five (5) before brushing and five (5) after brushing commonly available samples and to estimate the DNA yield and purity from the various times of collection. The purity and the concentration of the extracted DNA were determined spectrophotometric analysis, and the adequacy of DNA extracts for the PCR-based assay was assessed by amplifying a 1030-bp region of the mitochondrial D-loop.

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White adipose tissue (WAT) is an endocrine organ with crucial role in the development of obesity and related diseases. White adipocytes have less mitochondria than brown adipocytes; nevertheless, there is an increasing body of evidence showing that mitochondrial parameters play a relevant role in WAT physiology, such as proliferation, differentiation and triacylglycerol storage levels.

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Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy has been found to be commonly present in many organisms. However, the studies on the mitochondrial heteroplasmy within group of fishes are currently lacking. This specific purpose of this study was to investigate the mtDNA heteroplasmy in different organs within group of common carp.

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The recent resurgence of interest in m6A has been spurred by some intriguing findings detailing the effects and dynamics of this epigenetic modification. The m6A modification is a highly reactive and fluid modification which can respond rapidly to a broad variety of stimuli, and translate these signals into cellular activity. The little information that has been established on its functional capacity has opened up many new avenues of research and has tremendous implications for several fields of study.

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