MTERF3 regulates mitochondrial ribosome biogenesis in invertebrates and mammals

Regulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) expression is critical for the control of oxidative phosphorylation in response to physiological demand, and this regulation is often impaired in disease and aging. We have previously shown that mitochondrial transcription termination factor 3 (MTERF3) is a key regulator that represses mtDNA transcription in the mouse, but its molecular mode of action has remained elusive. Based on the hypothesis that key regulatory mechanisms for mtDNA expression are conserved in metazoans, we analyzed Mterf3 knockout and knockdown flies. We demonstrate here that decreased expression of MTERF3 not only leads to activation of mtDNA transcription, but also impairs assembly of the large mitochondrial ribosomal subunit. This novel function of MTERF3 in mitochondrial ribosomal biogenesis is conserved in the mouse, thus we identify a novel and unexpected role for MTERF3 in coordinating the crosstalk between transcription and translation for the regulation of mammalian mtDNA gene expression.
Author Summary One of the main functions of the mitochondrial network is to provide the energy currency ATP to drive a large array of cellular metabolic processes. The formation of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, which allows this energy supply, is under the control of two separate genetic systems, the nuclear and the mitochondrial genomes, whose expressions have to be tightly coordinated to ensure efficient mitochondrial function. The regulation of mitochondrial genome expression is still poorly understood despite the profound importance of this process in human physiology, disease, and aging. Here, we make one step forward by unraveling a new role for the mitochondrial transcription termination factor 3 (MTERF3), which was initially characterized as a factor able to decrease mitochondrial transcription. Using gene invalidation approaches, we show in two distinct model organisms, the fruit fly and the mouse, that MTERF3 is not only involved in mitochondrial transcription but also favors the assembly of the mitochondrial ribosome and thereby reinforces the coordination between transcription and translation events, two key steps in mitochondrial genome expression.