How to split up: lessons from mitochondria.

EMBO J 30 14, 2762–2778 (2011); published online June 24 2011 EMBO Rep 12 6, 565–573 (2011); doi:; DOI: 10.1038/embor.2011.54 Mitochondria are remarkably dynamic organelles undergoing frequent fusion and fission events. Impairment thereof is linked to numerous neurodegenerative disorders and dysregulation of apoptosis. The principal players mediating mitochondrial fission are considered to be well known and largely conserved between yeast and mammals. However, how the essential fission factor Drp1 is recruited to mitochondria and how its activity is regulated are far more complex than previously assumed. According to a recent study (Otera et al, 2010), recruitment of Drp1 and mitochondrial fission can be exerted by Mff. Surprisingly, these processes do not appear to require Fis1, apparently contradicting several earlier reports on the role of Fis1. Two studies reported in EMBO (Palmer et al, 2011) and in this issue of (Zhao et al, 2011) help to shed light on these unexpected findings. They identified two homologous vertebrate-specific negative regulators of Drp1-dependent fission termed: MIEF1/MiD51 and MiD49. They are able to recruit Drp1 to mitochondria but, importantly, rather than promoting fission, bind and inhibit Drp1. In a mutually exclusive manner, MIEF1/MiD51 can form a complex either with Drp1 or with Fis1. Thus, Fis1 may indirectly promote mitochondrial fission by its ability to sequester MIEF1/MiD51, preventing this novel factor from inhibiting mitochondrial fission. Future studies will have to decipher the complex interplay between these novel factors and how they regulate mitochondrial dynamics.