Cell cycle–dependent regulation of mitochondrial preprotein translocase

Mitochondria play central roles in cellular energy conversion, metabolism, and apoptosis. Mitochondria import more than 1000 different proteins from the cytosol. It is unknown if the mitochondrial protein import machinery is connected to the cell division cycle. We found that the cyclin-dependent kinase Cdk1 stimulated assembly of the main mitochondrial entry gate, the translocase of the outer membrane (TOM), in mitosis. The molecular mechanism...