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                                  Caitlyn Cardetti

 Advisor: Dr. Daniel Bogenhagenjl
caitlyn.cardetti@stonybrook.edu
B.S., Human Biology and Psychology 2013
Minnesota State University, Mankato

Understanding RNA processing within the mitochondria

Incorrect processing and maturation of mitochondrial RNAs (mtRNA) are the cause of most human mitochondrial disease. Furthermore, mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in aging and many common diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and cancer.

Mitochondria are double-membrane organelles found in essentially all eukaryotic organisms. Mitochondria contain their own DNA (mtDNA), maintained as multicopy circular double-stranded genomes in punctate DNA-protein complexes known as nucleoids. When this mtDNA is transcribed, the nascent mtRNA is organized in punctate, membraneless mitochondrial structures in the matrix called mitochondrial RNA granules (MRGs). MRGs are dynamic structures with that provide a platform for the spatiotemporal regulation of numerous processes required for mitochondrial gene expression including RNA processing, maturation, mitoribosome assembly and translation initiation. However, it is not clear how MRGs form or what determines their protein and RNA composition; determining these mechanisms are Caitlyn’s current areas of interest.

 

Recent Publications: