Membranes arrest the coarsening of mitochondrial condensates in human cells
), which results in the formation of bulbous mitochondria with restructured cristae. Based on quantitative particle tracking, bulbous mitochondria support significantly increased dynamics and rapid coarsening of mt-opto-condensates into a single, prominent droplet-in contrast to the membrane confinement observed in tubular mitochondria. Together, these observations inform how membranes can constrain the growth and dynamics of the condensates they enclose, without the need for additional regulatory mechanisms.
Authors
- Marina Feric (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7531-9305)
- S.C. Penna
- Sanjaya V. B. D. Aththawala Gedara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1501-2717)
Institutions
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Biology
- Published
- 2026-04-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10085-3
- Primary Topic
- Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences