Contact and competition between mitochondria and microbes

• Published in: Current opinion in microbiology 2021-10, Vol.63, p.189-194
• Main Authors: Medeiros, Tânia C, Mehra, Chahat, Pernas, Lena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1369-5274; 1879-0364
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.07.014

•Contact sites between eukaryotic pathogens and mitochondria are prevalent.•Host and parasite factors that mediate contact sites are tools to interrogate their function during infection.•Exchanges between host mitochondria and parasites can shape each other’s metabolism.•Contact sites may promote antagonistic and mutualistic interactions between host mitochondria and parasites. Invading microbes occupy the host cytosol and take up nutrients on which host organelles are also dependent. Thus, host organelles are poised to interact with intracellular microbes. Despite the essential role of host mitochondria in cellular metabolic homeostasis and in mediating cellular responses to microbial infection, we know little of how these organelles interact with intracellular pathogens, and how such interactions affect disease pathogenesis. Here, we give an overview of the different classes of physical and metabolic interactions reported to occur between mitochondria and eukaryotic pathogens. Investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms and functions of such interactions will reveal novel aspects of infection biology.