Mitochondrial Ribosome (Mitoribosome) Profiling for Monitoring Mitochondrial Translation In Vivo

Abstract

Translation in the mitochondria is regulated by mechanisms distinct from those acting in the cytosol and in bacteria, yet precise methods for investigating it have lagged behind. This unit describes an approach, mitochondrial ribosome (mitoribosome) profiling, to quantitatively monitor mitochondrial translation with high temporal and spatial resolution in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mitoribosomes are immunoprecipitated from whole-cell lysate and the protected mRNA fragments are isolated. These fragments are then converted to sequencing libraries or analyzed by northern blot hybridization to reveal the distribution of mitoribosomes across the mitochondrial transcriptome. As information about RNA abundance is required to resolve translational from RNA effects, we also present an RNA sequencing approach that can be performed in parallel. Accurately capturing the biologically relevant distribution of mitoribosome positions depends on several critical parameters that are discussed. Application of mitoribosome profiling can reveal mechanisms of mitochondrial translational control that were not previously possible to uncover. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.