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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Active thermodynamic force driven mitochondrial alignment

Masashi K. Kajita and Yoshiyuki Konishi

Tetsuhiro S. Hatakeyama*

  • Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, and Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, Fukui 910-8507, Japan

  • Department of Basic Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan

  • *Present address: Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI), Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan; hatakeyama@elsi.jp
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Phys. Rev. Research 6, L022024 – Published 29 April, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.L022024

Abstract

Mitochondria are critical organelles in eukaryotes that produce the energy currency adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In nerve axons, mitochondria are known to align at almost regular intervals to maintain a constant ATP concentration, but little is known about the mechanism. In this Letter, we show theoretically that ATP production and ATP-dependent nondirectional movement of mitochondria are sufficient for alignment, even without an explicit repulsive force between them, or internal mitochondrial states, or memories. This is similar to thermodynamic forces driven by thermal fluctuations, even generated by nonequilibrium processes, and demonstrates the diversity of mechanisms governing the motion of biological matter.

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References (36)

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Phys. Rev. Research 6, L022024– Published 29 April, 2024
  • Received 2 May 2023
  • Accepted 15 March 2024
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