May 28, 2026
How mitoribosomes choreograph protein synthesis in human mitochondria
A research team led by Peter Rehling and Niels Fischer has shown that mitoribosomes synthesize membrane proteins of the human mitochondria not continuously, but according to a precisely timed sequence, pausing at specific moments to coordinate protein folding and insertion into the inner mitochondrial membrane. The rate of this process depends on the orientation of the protein as it is incorporated into the membrane; that is, depending on whether a specific part of the protein protrudes into the interior of the mitochondria or into the space between the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes, pauses of varying lengths occur during its synthesis. The findings were published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. See press release MPI-NAT and UMG.
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