Yeast mitochondria contain ATP-sensitive, reversible actin-binding activity.

Sedimentation assays were used to demonstrate and characterize binding of isolated yeast mitochondria to phalloidin-stabilized yeast F-actin. These actin-mitochondrial interactions are ATP sensitive, saturable, reversible, and do not depend upon mitochondrial membrane potential. Protease digestion of mitochondrial outer membrane proteins or saturation of myosin-binding sites on F-actin with the S1 subfragment of skeletal myosin block binding. These observations indicate that a protein (or proteins) on the mitochondrial surface mediates ATP-sensitive, reversible binding of mitochondria to the lateral surface of microfilaments. Actin copurifies with mitochondria during subcellular fractionation and is released from the organelle upon treatment with ATP. Thus, actin-mitochondrial interactions resembling those observed in vitro may also exist in intact yeast cells. Finally, a yeast mutant bearing a temperature-sensitive mutation in the actin-encoding ACT1 gene (act1-3) displays temperature-dependent defects in transfer of mitochondria from mother cells to newly developed buds during yeast cell mitosis.