High-throughput cryo-EM
Big thanks to Oliwia for organizing everything and making sure the Mattei Team finally has an official and up-to-date group photo!
Credit: Massimo Del Prete/EMBL.
Cell survival under nutrient-deprived conditions hinges on the ability of cells to adapt their organelles and reprogram their metabolic pathways.
In our study, we integrated biochemistry, cryo-EM, and in situ cryo-ET to unravel the structural mechanisms behind cytosolic ribosome sequestration on fragmented mitochondria in starved S. pombe cells. We found that hibernating ribosomes tether to the outer mitochondrial membrane as an adaptive response to glucose depletion in yeast. Surprisingly, ribosomes bind the outer membrane via their small subunit, an interaction mediated by the protein Cpc2/RACK1.
For more details, read our paper on Nature Communication and Dorota Badowska’s press release article:: What can we learn from hungry yeast cells.