Isolation of mitochondria for biogenetical studies: An update

The use of good quality preparations of isolated mitochondria is necessary when studying the mitochondrial biogenetical activities. This article explains a fast and simple method for the purification of mammalian mitochondria from different tissues and cultured cells, that is suitable for the analysis of many aspects of the organelle's biogenesis. The mitochondria isolated following the protocol described here, are highly active and capable of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis. Mitochondrial tRNA aminoacylation, mtDNA-protein interactions and specific import of added proteins into the organelles, can also be studied using this kind of preparations. © 2009 Mitochondria Research Society.