Mutant C. elegans mitofusin leads to selective removal of mtDNA heteroplasmic deletions across generations to maintain fitness

Abstract

Taken together, our findings show that when mitochondrial fusion is compromised, deleterious heteroplasmic mutations cannot evade natural selection while inherited through generations. Moreover, our findings underline the importance of cross-talk between mitochondrial fusion and mitophagy in modulating the inheritance of mtDNA heteroplasmy.