Mitochondrial Socialization and Its Implications
CAN MITOCHONDRIA COMMUNICATE?
MITOCHONDRIAL SOCIALIZATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS
Sociality or
social behavior refers to the interactions that take place amongst individuals
of the same species living together in a society. Sociality acts as a catalyst
to the functionality and development of any social group by allowing
individuals to overcome their limitations. This can be seen in the development
of human civilization. It hasn't come this far because of an individual but is
the result of the combined efforts of a lot of people coming together.
All kinds of
organisms starting from unicellular bacteria to complex animals like humans
realize that the pros of establishing a social setup and working as a whole
outweigh the cons by a significant margin. Socialism is believed to have
evolved as adaptive behavior; being social increases fitness, survival rate,
reproductive success, capacity, and productivity.
What
are Mitochondria?
Popularly referred
to as the powerhouse of the cell, mitochondria are organelles that take over
the biochemical processes of respiration and energy production. A mitochondrion
(sin.) is a double membrane-bound organelle found in the cytoplasm of the cells
of eukaryotes, mostly mammalian cells. The only notable exception of its
presence is in mature erythrocytes.
The forerunners of
mitochondria are believed to be bacteria. These bacteria found a niche inside
larger cells and provided them with energy over time this symbiosis proved to
be so beneficial that it likely powered the evolution of multicellular
organisms. As an inheritance from bacterial origins, mitochondria are still
capable of functioning independently. They carry their own small genome;
separate from the cellular genes in the nucleus.
Do
Mitochondria Exhibit Sociality?
Bacteria exhibit
remarkable community behaviors; they can act both independently or together,
often communicating and cooperating to form complex structures. Since bacterias
are believed to be the precursors to the emergence of mitochondria, their
social nature is also linked with that of bacteria.
Mitochondria are
the first known social organelles. Their functionality goes far beyond just
energy production and respiration. They are also actively involved in the
production of certain hormones, driving immune responses, and by doing so
affect the fate and development of cells.
Mitochondria
exhibit highly complex interactions amongst themselves. They send signals to
each other and operate in coordinated networks; fusing, splitting up,
stretching, contracting, moving towards and away from one another. They also,
form groups, divide tasks, synchronize activities and actively respond to both
each other and their environment.
Mitochondria are
believed to communicate using electromagnetic signals. This signal is
transferred when the mitochondria touch; resulting in their cristae lining up
on either side of the membrane. Charged ions are pumped across the membrane
creating a potential, thereby generating an electrical current accompanying
magnetic field along with ATP.
What
does Mitochondrial Sociality Encompass?
Mitochondria exhibit the following six key principles of socialism. These characteristics play a vital role in establishing mitochondria as social organisms.
1.
They
Share an Environment
2.
They
can Communicate
3. They form
Groups
4. Their Behavior
is Synchronized
5. They Function Independently
6. They Exhibit Specialization and Division of Labor
The
social interactions exhibited by mitochondria improve the efficiency not only
of the organelles individually but also that of the organism as a whole.
What
Implication Does Mitochondrial Sociality have?
Mitochondrial
sociality can have a lot of direct and indirect implications with regard to
human health and diseases. Mitochondria play a central role in sustaining
cellular life and stress adaptation characterizing the social principles that
shape the mitochondrial behavior, therefore, expands the spectrum of the
potential forces that enable life and (mal)adaptive processes generally.
Recent studies
suggest that mitochondria play a role in disease progression via bioenergetics
parameters. Mitochondria-derived molecules are also said to be key effectors in
the transduction of information in response to psychological and metabolic
stressors.
The empirical
approaches are aiming to reveal the mechanism of health and disease need to
incorporate assessments of the multiple channels whereby mitochondria
communicate and interact – both locally within the cell, and systemically
within the organism. Developing the methods that dynamically quantify the
integrity of mitochondrial communication systems in health and disease could
lead to a new generation of biomarkers by genetic analysis.
In conclusion, we
note that a social-mitochondrial perspective emphasizes the central role of
communication in biology. This leads to the inspiring possibility that social
and bioenergetics principles can guide the development of communication-based
biomarkers that dynamically identify and quantify both health states and global
perturbations among organisms early before disease manifests. Mapping
communication and dynamic regulatory processes to predict health in a
personalized way could lead to evidence-based interventions, building upon
socio-bioenergetics principles, to foster health and resilience across the
lifespan.
References:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.04.017
Article by: MAHEK KHATRI and DHANUSHA NADAR, T. Y. B. Sc. (BOTANY), TCSC
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