Inducible Counter Mitochondrial Morphology

Mitochondrial morphology is dynamically changed in conjunction with mitochondrial spatiotemporal functionality. Although considerable efforts have been made to elucidate abnormal mitochondrial morphology in various diseases, a holistic understanding of the significance of mitochondrial morphology in states of health and disease remains to be elucidated, owing to technical limitations. In the present study, we developed a novel method, inducible Counter Mitochondrial Morphology (iCMM), to manipulate mitochondrial morphology on a minutes-timescale using a chemically inducible dimerization system. Using the iCMM method, it was possible to investigate the types of changes that occurred in cells immediately after the change in mitochondrial morphology, which would have been challenging using conventional genetic engineering methods. The manipulation of mitochondrial morphology using iCMM can facilitate and improve our understanding of the existing interplay between mitochondrial morphology and cellular functions.