Biological complexity: mitochondrial cell differentiation (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, March 24, 2019, 18:50 (2071 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: Mitochondria actually have control over several types of cell differentiation:

https://www.quantamagazine.org/shape-shifting-mitochondria-direct-stem-cells-fate-20190...

QUOTE: In 2016, Slack, Khacho and their colleagues reported the first evidence that mitochondrial shape-shifting is a key regulator of neural stem cell fate, the decision to self-renew or differentiate.

QUOTE: The real significance of Slack and Khacho’s work in neural stem cells might be that the mitochondria’s role in neurogenesis relates to something more dynamic than shape alone. According to Khacho, it’s likely that what matters isn’t the organelles’ form in a cell at a given moment, but rather their ability to morph through fission and fusion. Fission and fusion are happening all the time, and so far, scientists have only been looking at snapshots of this process. “Perhaps it’s the plasticity, the ability to change,” Khacho said. “That’s the important thing.”

dhw: Thank you for a whole raft of interesting articles. I found this one particularly stimulating, although as always I have difficulty coping with the technical details. The quotes once again highlight the importance of stem cells in the whole process of evolution, and perhaps the key question is what actually makes the “decision to self-renew or differentiate”.

And my answer is the same as always. The genome contains the proper information to help with the choices. The information is carried by instructive molecules, whose shape delivers the info, or in a series of molecular reactions to dictate an outcome.