I've read a lot of articles on cytoskeleton and mitochondria, but still haven't got a clear answer about existence of internal scaffold inside this organelle.
No skeleton proteins are expressed by mtDNA. Only mitochondrial proteins are encoded in it, mostly proteins participating in the Electron Transport Chain.
About internal scaffolding in the mitochondria, there is no evidence of such thing. Nonetheless, it has been suggested previously, that some cytoskeleton proteins - particularly intermediate filaments - co-localize with mitochondria, providing anchorage and internal scaffolding.
I haven't seen any evidence that there is an intra-mitochondrial skeleton. Bacterial orthologs of actin and tubulin do exist but they do not function in the same way.
Possibly, there is no any scaffold based on polymerization-depolymerization of skeletal proteins in mitochondria, but several aspects of the organelle such as intramitochondrial localisation of mtDNAs, unique and dynamic architecture of mitochondria can be organised by miscellaneous components.
Attached review and links may give you an idea.
http://www.cell.com/pb/assets/raw/journals/research/snapshots/PIIS009286741100660X.pdf
http://www.cell.com/pb/assets/raw/journals/research/snapshots/PIIS0092867412004709.pdf
I see what you mean Volkan. I still haven't seen any evidence of an internal scaffold but I am intrigued to dig further. I wonder if an analogy to bacterial skeletons may be useful.
No skeleton proteins are expressed by mtDNA. Only mitochondrial proteins are encoded in it, mostly proteins participating in the Electron Transport Chain.
About internal scaffolding in the mitochondria, there is no evidence of such thing. Nonetheless, it has been suggested previously, that some cytoskeleton proteins - particularly intermediate filaments - co-localize with mitochondria, providing anchorage and internal scaffolding.
Rigidity could be imparted to the mitochondria by elements other than cytoskeletal proteins. Packed coiled-coils could certainly do this.
http://www.jbc.org/content/287/13/9855.abstract
Would the cristae formed from the inner membrane itself impart some structural support for the organelle?
Olivia, you've made a good point from a macro-scale. On the micro (molecular)-scale, from what I've read, I believe that the cristae's structure and shape are determined by the scaffolding or shaping proteins that underlie the inner membrane, which I believe was what Volkan alluded to.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3790458/
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