Determining the subcellular compartment in which the unique cleavage of mitochondrial F1 ATPase subunit alpha happens

Abstract

The T. brucei's infectious stage is characterized by its unique metabolism which requires the mitochondrial FoF1-ATPase to hydrolyze ATP in order to maintain the essential mitochondrial membrane potential. This complex rotary machine has several extraordinary features including the proteolytic cleavage of the F1-ATPase subunit alpha that results in the expulsion of an internal octapeptide. This thesis is focused on whether the proteolytic processing of the essential F1-ATPase subunit already begins in the cytosol.