Abstract

Mitochondrial defects underlie many pathologies, including inherited diseases and age-related disorders. Mitochondrial homeostasis must balance mitochondrial gene expression, mitochondrial protein and RNA import, and mitochondrial lipid metabolism with quality control processes which limit the accumulation of damaged mitochondria and mitochondrial components. These quality control mechanisms can target individual molecules, specific mitochondrial sub-regions, or entire mitochondrial compartments, and are integrated with other mitochondrial regulatory circuits and cellular processes. How these mechanisms are regulated and integrated with mitochondrial biogenesis pathways has become a major focus of research. This EMBO workshop will combine emerging topics in the field such as intramitochondrial segregation of ‘damaged’ components and mitochondrial hererogeneity, with more established themes such as mitochondrial gene expression, mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrial protein targeting, mitochondrial DNA stability and propagation, mitophagy and apoptosis. We will aim to integrate novel findings in these sub-fields with mitochondrially linked disease and treatment, in order to generate a synergistic interaction that will lead to novel research opportunities and foster collaboration.