Regulation of Mitochondrial Dynamics:
Another Process Modulated by Ca²⁺ Signals?
(Movie)

Yisang Yoon^*

Department of Anesthesiology and of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.

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*Contact information. E-mail: yisang_yoon{at}urmc.rochester.edu

Description

Dynamic behavior of mitochondria in cultured mammalian cells. Mitochondria in a normal rat liver cell line, Clone 9, were fluorescently labeled with green fluorescent protein. (Movie 1) Time-lapse images were acquired at 10-s intervals for 100 frames and animated at 10 frames per second. In addition to frequent fission and fusion, other morphological changes, including branching, stretching, and shrinking, can be observed. (Movie 2) Regions in which particular morphological changes occur have been highlighted. The yellow rectangle apparent at the start of the movie encloses three visible mitochondria that fuse to form a single mitochondrion. The blue shape encloses a mitochondrion that undergoes successive fission events. A small "panhandled" mitochondrion enclosed by the red rectangle undergoes a dramatic shape change.

[Access Movie 1]

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Technical Details

Format: Movie 1: QuickTime Movie (qt file); Movie 2: Shockwave Flash Object (swf file)

Size: 2,079 kb (Movie 1); 306 kb (Movie 2)

Requirements: Movie 1 will play with QuickTime

(http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/).

Movie 2 will play with Macromedia Flash 5 or higher

(http://www.macromedia.com/downloads/).

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Citation: Y. Yoon, Regulation of Mitochondrial Dynamics: Another Process Modulated by Ca²⁺ Signals? Sci. STKE 2005, pe18 (2005).

© 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science