Both Splice Variants of Zebrafish Tmem11 Localize to the Outer Membrane of Mitochondria.

Abstract

In mammalian and Drosophila systems, Transmembrane protein 11 (TMEM11) regulates mitochondrial morphology, mitophagy, and mitochondrial function. Here, we begin to expand these studies to the zebrafish model system. We identified two splice variants of tmem11 , which are both expressed during early development. In addition, we determined that both zebrafish Tmem11 proteins localize to the mitochondria using fluorescent tags and expression in cell culture. Consistent with recent data, biochemical fractionation indicates that Tmem11 is embedded in the outer membrane of mitochondria. Overall, these studies will provide new insights into the complex protein network that mediates mitochondrial physiology in the zebrafish.