Abstract
Mitochondrial function is critically dependent on the folding of the mitochondrial inner membrane into cristae; indeed, numerous human diseases are associated with aberrant crista morphologies.
With the MICOS complex, OPA1 and the F1Fo-ATP synthase, key players of cristae biogenesis have been identified, yet their inter-play is poorly understood. Harnessing super-resolution light and 3D
electron microscopy, we dissect the roles of these proteins in the formation of cristae in human mitochondria. We individually disrupted the genes of all seven MICOS subunits in human cells and
re-expressed Mic10 or Mic60 in the respective knockout cell line.
We demonstrate that assembly of the MICOS complex triggers remodeling of pre-existing unstructured cristae and de novo formation of crista junctions (CJs) on existing cristae. We show that the
Mic60-subcomplex is sufficient for CJ formation, whereas the Mic10-subcomplex controls lamellar cristae biogenesis. OPA1 stabilizes tubular CJs and, along with the F1Fo-ATP synthase, fine-tunes
the positioning of the MICOS complex and CJs. We propose a new model of cristae formation, involving the coordinated remodeling of an unstructured crista precursor into multiple lamellar cristae.
