Yeast mitochondrial fission is a multistep process during which the dynamin-related GTPase, Dnm1p, assembles into punctate structures that associate with the outer mitochondrial membrane and mediate mitochondrial division. Steps in the Dnm1p-dependent process of fission are regulated by the actions of the WD repeat protein, Mdv1p, and the mitochondrial outer membrane protein, Fis1p. Our previou...

Paraquat (PQ), as a highly effective and nonselective herbicide, induces cell apoptosis through generation of superoxide anions which forms reactive oxygen species (ROS). Mitochondria, as regulators for cellular redox signaling, have been proved to play an important role in PQ-induced cell apoptosis. This study aimed to evaluate whether and how mitochondrial fission interacts with oxidative str...

Mitochondria are key players in aging and cell death. It has been suggested that mitochondrial fragmentation, mediated by the Dnm1/Fis1 organelle fission machinery, stimulates aging and cell death. This was based on the observation that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Δdnm1 and Δfis1 mutants show an enhanced lifespan and increased resistance to cell death inducers. However, the Dnm1/Fis1 fission machi...

The balance between the fission and fusion mechanisms regulate the morphology of mitochondria. In this study we have identified a mammalian protein that we call hFis1, which is the orthologue of the yeast Fis1p known to participate in yeast mitochondrial division. hFis1, when overexpressed in various cell types, localized to the outer mitochondrial membrane and induced mitochondrial fission. Th...

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that continually undergo fusion and fission. These opposing processes work in concert to maintain the shape, size, and number of mitochondria and their physiological function. Some of the major molecules mediating mitochondrial fusion and fission in mammals have been discovered, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are only partially unraveled. In particul...

Dynamin is a mechanochemical GTPase essential for membrane fission during clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Dynamin forms helical complexes at the neck of clathrin-coated pits and their structural changes coupled with GTP hydrolysis drive membrane fission. Dynamin and its binding protein amphiphysin cooperatively regulate membrane remodeling during the fission, but its precise mechanism remains el...

An overview on phenomena observed in low-energy fission is presented, including new results from a GSI experiment with relativistic secondary beams. The interpretation of the structural effects in terms of fission channels reveals an astonishing stability of the fission-channel positions in the heavy fragment in nuclear charge in contrast to the previously assumed constancy in mass. The statist...

Endocytic cargo and Rab GTPases are segregated to distinct domains of an endosome. These domains maintain their identity until they undergo fission to traffic cargo. It is not fully understood how segregation of cargo or Rab proteins is maintained along the continuous endosomal membrane or what machinery is required for fission. Endosomes form contact sites with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) t...

The cross section for the neutron-induced fission of 238 U nuclei has been measured using time-of-flight spectrometer GNEIS neutron complex at Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, National Research Center Kurchatov in energy range 0.3–500 MeV. Fission fragments have detected by low-pressure position-sensitive multiwire proportional counters. U( n , f ) with respect to 235 fission, which is an ...

Strutinsky-type calculations indicate that the potential energy favors four channels in the nuclear fission of 252Cf. The connection of this finding with experimental results on the dis­ tribution of fragment mass, total kinetic energy, neutron multiplicities, and relative abundances is discussed. Similar calculations for 227Ac, 236U, and 258Fm show that the changing preponder­ ance of the four...