Evolution of Mitochondria as Signaling Organelles

Abstract

Mitochondria have primarily been viewed as bioenergetic and biosynthetic organelles that autonomously co-exist within the cell. However, the past two decades have provided evidence that mitochondria function as signaling organelles, constantly communicating with the cytosol to initiate biological events under homeostatic and stress conditions. Thus, the signaling function of the mitochondria may have been selected by nature from the inception of the early eukaryote, as discussed in this essay.