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The nucleus has long been seen as the ruler of the cell, packed full of genes that run the show. But the idea it has complete control is questioned by a new study suggesting mitochondria may be able to influence the nucleus.

Mitochondria are energy-generating structures found in the cells of complex organisms which possess their own much smaller genome. Changhan David Lee at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and his colleagues have found that in human cells this encodes an RNA that makes a peptide, a protein-like molecule, called MOTS-c. This peptide can move to the nucleus and influence genes there in response to cellular stress.

The origins of this ability may lay in the idea that mitochondria are descended from bacteria that were ingested by our cells at some point in our evolutionary history, forming a symbiotic relationship that required communication. 鈥淲e think these mitochondrial-derived peptides, such as MOTS-c, are part of an ancient communication system that is still in play today,鈥� says Lee.

The current mitochondrial genome is a relic of its bacterial origins because over time a lot of its genes transferred to the nucleus. This raises the intriguing question as to whether the mitochondrion is regulating its former genes 鈥� and Lee and his colleagues are now looking into this. They also hope that understanding the complex communication between mitochondria and the nucleus could shed light on the roles of both in aging and age-related diseases.

But there is some scepticism about the selective export of RNA from human mitochondria. It鈥檚 unclear why only the RNA for MOTS-c would be able to escape rather than any other short RNA fragments, says Zofia Chrzanowska-Lightowlers of the Mitochondrial Research Group at Newcastle University, UK.

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