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Peter Ilgen, Till Stephan, Stefan Jakobs (MPI for biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen)
Mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell, have a relatively complicated morphology with a smooth outer membrane and a highly convoluted inner membrane. Although today many of the membrane shaping proteins are known, their interplay and how they form and maintain the inner architecture of mitochondria is still controversial. We have generated a genetically modified cell line in which we have been able to switch the expression of some of these proteins off and on. When we turned one of the proteins "OFF", the inner membrane structure collapsed. After we turned the expression "ON" again, we followed the restructuring of the mitochondrial inner membrane from the collapsed to the unperturbed form over several hours. We imaged the mitochondria with focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy as well as electron tomography to obtain data on membrane morphology. These data were then reconstructed into 3D representations of the outer and inner membrane using IMOD, and final renderings were created in Blender. Our results provided deeper insight into the temporal sequence of inner membrane remodeling and cristae biogenesis.