Super-resolution microscopy of mitochondrial mRNAs

Stefan Stoldt, Frederike Maass, Michael Weber, Sven Dennerlein, Peter Ilgen, Jutta Gärtner, Aysenur Canfes, Sarah V. Schweighofer, Daniel C. Jans, Peter Rehling and Stefan Jakobs ()
Additional contact information
Stefan Stoldt: RG Mitochondrial Structure and Dynamics
Frederike Maass: RG Mitochondrial Structure and Dynamics
Michael Weber: Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sven Dennerlein: University Medical Center Göttingen
Peter Ilgen: RG Mitochondrial Structure and Dynamics
Jutta Gärtner: University of Göttingen
Aysenur Canfes: RG Mitochondrial Structure and Dynamics
Sarah V. Schweighofer: RG Mitochondrial Structure and Dynamics
Daniel C. Jans: RG Mitochondrial Structure and Dynamics
Peter Rehling: University of Göttingen
Stefan Jakobs: RG Mitochondrial Structure and Dynamics

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Mitochondria contain their own DNA (mtDNA) and a dedicated gene expression machinery. As the mitochondrial dimensions are close to the diffraction limit of classical light microscopy, the spatial distribution of mitochondrial proteins and in particular of mitochondrial mRNAs remains underexplored. Here, we establish single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) combined with STED and MINFLUX super-resolution microscopy (nanoscopy) to visualize individual mitochondrial mRNA molecules and associated proteins. STED nanoscopy reveals the spatial relationships between distinct mRNA species and proteins such as the RNA granule marker GRSF1, demonstrating adaptive changes in mRNA distribution and quantity in challenged mammalian cells and patient-derived cell lines. Notably, STED-smFISH shows the release of mRNAs during apoptosis, while MINFLUX reveals the folding of the mRNAs into variable shapes, as well as their spatial proximity to mitochondrial ribosomes. These protocols are transferable to various cell types and open new avenues for understanding mitochondrial gene regulation in health and disease.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61577-5 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-61577-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61577-5

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().