Abstract
Calcium uptake into mitochondria occurs via a recently identified ion channel called the uniporter. Here, we characterize the phylogenomic distribution of the uniporter's membrane-spanning pore subunit (MCU) and regulatory partner (MICU1). Homologs of both components tend to co-occur in all major branches of eukaryotic life, but both have been lost along certain protozoan and fungal lineages. Several bacterial genomes also contain putative MCU homologs that may represent prokaryotic calcium channels. The analyses indicate that the uniporter may have been an early feature of mitochondria.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Bacteria / chemistry*
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Bacteria / genetics
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Bacteria / metabolism
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Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
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Bacterial Proteins / genetics
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Calcium Channels / chemistry*
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Calcium Channels / genetics
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Calcium-Binding Proteins / chemistry
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Calcium-Binding Proteins / genetics
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Cation Transport Proteins / chemistry
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Cation Transport Proteins / genetics
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Eukaryota / chemistry*
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Eukaryota / genetics
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Eukaryota / metabolism
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Evolution, Molecular*
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Genome
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Humans
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Mitochondria / chemistry*
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Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins / chemistry*
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Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins / genetics
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Phylogeny
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Protein Structure, Tertiary
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Proteome
Substances
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Bacterial Proteins
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Calcium Channels
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Calcium-Binding Proteins
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Cation Transport Proteins
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MICU1 protein, human
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Mitochondrial Membrane Transport Proteins
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Proteome
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mitochondrial calcium uniporter