Wednesday 19 October 2016

Supercomplexes: Integrated Complex Systems In Cells


Mitochondrion. Image courtesy of Kelvinsong, Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).




Joel Kontinen

New research has shown that mitochondrial cells are supercomplex, prompting scientists to come up with new terms.

A brief research item in Nature says:

Mitochondrial electron transportation chain complexes, responsible for cellular respiration and energy production, are organised in supercomplexes called respirasomes.”

Two studies using cryo electron microscopy on mammal mitochondria found structures called supercomplexes. They are identified by the name complex plus a Roman numeral (I – IV).

Needless to say, the cells need each other and could not have come about through Darwinian processes.


Source::

Nature Research. 2016. inside the respirasome. Nature 537 (7621), 491.