NUCLEO-MITOCHONDRIAL INTERACTIONS IN MITOCHONDRIAL GENE-EXPRESSION

All proteins encoded by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are dependent on pro teins encoded by nuclear genes for their synthesis and function. Recen t developments in the identification of these genes and the elucidatio n of the roles their products play at various stages of mitochondrial gene expression are covered in this review, which focuses mainly on wo rk with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The high degree of evoluti onary conservation of many cellular processes between this yeast and h igher eukaryotes, the ease with which mitochondrial biogenesis can be manipulated both genetically and physiologically, and the fact that it will be the first organism for which a complete genomic sequence will be available within the next 2 to 3 yeats makes it the organism of ch oice for drawing up an inventory of all nuclear genes involved in mito chondrial biogenesis and for the identification of their counterparts in other organisms.