Research on Mitochondrial Genetics and Epigenetics
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, titled "Mitochondrial Genetics and Epigenetics”, is focused on molecular research regarding the genetics and epigenetics of the mitochondria. Mitochondria are cellular mediators of energy metabolism whose physiology is maintained either by nuclear or mitochondrial gene functions. The peculiar dynamics of mitochondrial (mt)DNA, such as a high mutation rate, the balance between homoplasmy and heteroplasmy, as well as the copy number variability and maintenance, contribute to the complex regulation of the mitochondrial genetics and are associated with the onset of pathological conditions ranging from metabolic alterations to neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
The crosstalk between nucleus and mitochondria is finely tuned; in particular, alterations in mitochondrial functionality can trigger cellular stress signaling and changes in nuclear gene expression by retrograde regulation. In this scenario, the epigenetic modifications also occurring in mtDNA play an important role in regulating gene expression, influencing the maintenance of cellular health by leading the cellular homeostasis, the oxidative stress responses, and the energy production. Furthermore, non-coding RNAs, both mitochondrially and nuclearly encoded, can be involved in the epigenetic regulation of mitochondrial gene expression, as well as are the modifications of mtDNA-binding proteins within mitochondrial nucleoids.
Dr. Arianna Montanari
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- mitochondrial DNA dynamics
- retrograde regulation
- epigenetic modulators
- mitochondrial diseases
- cellular homeostasis
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