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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Hanns Lochmuller, Professor Rita HorvathORCiD
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Defects in mitochondrial translation are among the most common causes of mitochondrial disease1, but the mechanisms that regulate mitochondrial translation remain largely unknown. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, all mitochondrial mRNAs require specific translational activators, which recognize sequences in 5' UTRs and mediate translation2. As mammalian mitochondrial mRNAs do not have significant 5' UTRs3, alternate mechanisms must exist to promote translation. We identified a specific defect in the synthesis of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)-encoded COX I subunit in a pedigree segregating late-onset Leigh syndrome and cytochrome c oxidase (COX) deficiency. We mapped the defect to chromosome 17q by functional complementation and identified a homozygous single-base-pair insertion in CCDC44, encoding a member of a large family of hypothetical proteins containing a conserved DUF28 domain. CCDC44, renamed TACO1 for translational activator of COX I, shares a notable degree of structural similarity with bacterial homologs4, and our findings suggest that it is one of a family of specific mammalian mitochondrial translational activators.
Author(s): Weraarpachai W, Antonicka H, Sasarman F, Seeger J, Schrank B, Kolesar JE, Lochmuller H, Chevrette M, Kaufman BA, Horvath R, Shoubridge EA
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Nature Genetics
Year: 2009
Volume: 41
Issue: 7
Pages: 833-837
ISSN (print): 1061-4036
ISSN (electronic): 1546-1718
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng.390
DOI: 10.1038/ng.390
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