Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Ahead of the curve: mitochondrial fusion and phospholipase D

A new study has identified a novel phospholipase D (PLD) that is located in the mitochondrial outer membrane and is required for organelle fusion. As PLD-catalysed production of fusogenic lipids is critical for many examples of membrane fusion (such as those mediated by SNAREs), this startling finding raises the possibility that mitochondria use a mechanism common to other cellular fusion events.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A schematic representation of a model for MitoPLD in mitochondrial fusion.

References

  1. Okamoto, K. & Shaw, J. M. Annu. Rev. Genet. 39, 503–536 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Chan, D.C. Cell 125, 1241–1252 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Cereghetti, G.M. & Scorrano, L. Oncogene 25, 4717–4724 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Youle, R.J. & Karbowski, M. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 6, 657–663 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Choi, S.-Y. et al. Nature Cell Biol. 8, 1255–1262 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Santel, A. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1763, 490–499 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hales, K.G. & Fuller, M.T. Cell 90, 121–129 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Hermann, G.J. et al. J. Cell Biol. 143, 359–373 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Rapaport, D. et al. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 20150–20155 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Sesaki, H. & Jensen, R. E. J. Cell Biol. 147, 699–706 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Olichon, A. et al. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1763, 500–509 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Jenkins, G.M. & Frohman, M.A. Cell Mol. Life Sci. 62, 2305–2316 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Nakanishi, H., de los Santos, P. & Neiman, A. M. Mol. Biol. Cell 15, 1802–1815 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Koshiba, T. et al. Science 305, 858–862 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Hovius, R. et al. FEBS Lett. 330, 71–76 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Liu, J. et al. Mol. Cancer Res. 1, 892–902 (2003).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Reichert, A.S. & Neupert, W. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1592, 41–49 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Vicogne, J. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 14761–14766 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jensen, R., Sesaki, H. Ahead of the curve: mitochondrial fusion and phospholipase D. Nat Cell Biol 8, 1215–1217 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1106-1215

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1106-1215

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing