Mitochondria


This course looks at the role that mitochondria and mtDNA play in fertilisation and developmental outcome, in order to build a better understanding of how the efficient regulation of mitochondria and mtDNA during very early development ensure that an individual is born healthy and maintains a normal healthy lifestyle.


About this course

  • Detailed perspective

    Close look at the role that mitochondria and mtDNA play in fertilization and developmental outcome

  • Interactive content

    Course broken down into modules and chapters, and supplemented with images, tables, and graphs

  • Expert input

    Course developed by Jus St. John, Director of the Centre for Genetic Diseases at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research.

Course curriculum

  • 1
    The role of mitochondria & mitochondrial DNA in fertilization & development outcome
    • Introduction
    • Mitochondrial structure
    • Mitochondria as generators of cellular energy
    • Other mitochondrial functions
    • The mitochondrial genome
    • Transcription and replication of the mitochondrial genome
    • Inheritance of mtDNA
    • The importance of transmitting one population of mtDNA
    • The importance of mitochondria in the oocyte at the time of fertilization
    • The use of assisted reproductive technologies to overcome mitochondrial deficiency
    • Mitochondria and mtDNA as biomarkers for oocyte and embryo development
    • Conclusion
    • References
  • 2
    Ovarian rejuvenation - is it possible?
    • Mitochondrial function and cytoplasmic injection
    • The mitochondria during reproductive age
    • Mitochondria within the oocyte
    • Cumulus cells and mitochondrial energy
    • Increased oocyte energy
    • Clinical trial with EggPCs
    • References
  • 3
    Germline Stem Cells
    • The Function of Germline Stem Cells
    • Molecular Markers of Mammalian GSCs
    • POU5F1
    • LIN28
    • NANOG
    • PRDM1
    • DPPA3
    • IFITM3
    • C-KIT
    • DDX4
    • Female GSCs in Non-Mammalian Species
    • The Evidence for Female GSCs in Mammals
    • Prosimian Primates
    • Non-human Primates
    • Humans
    • The Use of DDX4 for Isolation of Putative OSCs

Instructor

Prof. Jus St. John

Professor Jus St. John was awarded his PhD from the University of Birmingham in 1999. Whilst in the UK, he was funded by the Medical Research Council and was appointed Professor of Reproductive Biology at the University of Warwick (2007).

Since 2009, he has been the Director of the Centre for Genetic Diseases at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research. His research focuses on understanding how mitochondrial DNA is transmitted and replicated. Using a variety of assisted reproductive technologies and embryonic stem cell models, he has described mitochondrial DNA replication events in oocytes, embryos and undifferentiated and differentiating embryonic stem cells and why they are important to developmental outcome. He has also demonstrated why donor cell mitochondrial DNA is transmitted to embryos and offspring following nuclear transfer. 

Additionally, he has also shown how mitochondrial DNA copy number is regulated in a cell-specific manner by DNA methylation of the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial DNA-specific polymerase; and how mtDNA haplotypes influence chromosomal gene expression patterns. He is using these outcomes to develop mini-pig models of autologous mitochondrial DNA supplementation to enhance to developmental outcomes; and reproductive strategies to prevent the transmission of mutant mitochondrial DNA from one generation to the next.

He has published in The Lancet, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Cell Biology, Nucleic Acids Research, Stem Cells, Cell Death and Differentiation, Journal of Cell Science, and Genetics. In 2013, he received the Society for Reproductive Biology’s Award for Excellence in Reproductive Biology Research.