Mitochondria are double-membrane-bound organelles that are essential for cellular energy production. A fundamental question in eukaryotic cell biology is how the biogenesis of mitochondria is achieved and regulated.

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Mitochondria are key parts of the cell whose central role is to produce energy in a suitable form for many biological processes. They are also involved in programmed cell death, and in maintaining appropriate levels of calcium in cells. These activities require mitochondria to communicate with the cell nucleus. Disruption of mitochondrial function can lead to a broad range of human diseases including diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, obesity, cancer and premature ageing. Therefore, a full understanding of the basic processes in mitochondria is needed to identify the causes and consequences of mitochondrial malfunction and to enable us to design new therapies that compensate for or correct such faults. This programme will study how mitochondria are made and how their function responds to the changing requirements of the cell during growth and development. Already we have found that nutrient availability has a marked impact on mitochondrial function and so we plan to extend this work and test its applicability to diseases in mice with a view to designing and implementing clinical trials in humans.