A century of mitochondrial research, 1922-2022

Abstract

Although recognized earlier as subcellular entities by microscopists, mitochondria have been the subject of functional studies since 1922, when their biochemical similarities with bacteria were first noted. In this overview I trace the history of research on mitochondria from that time up to the present day, focussing on the major milestones of the overlapping eras of mitochondrial biochemistry, genetics, pathology and cell biology, and its explosion into new areas in the past 25 years. Nowadays, mitochondria are considered to be fully integrated into cell physiology, rather than serving specific functions in isolation.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Calcium homeostasis; Cell signalling; Chemiosmotic hypothesis; DNA replication; Endosymbiosis; Eukaryote origins; Heteroplasmy; Immunity; Krebs cycle; Mitochondrial DNA; Mitochondrial disease; Mitochondrial dynamics; Mitophagy; Oxidative phosphorylation; Reactive oxygen species; Supercomplexes.