Mitochondrial DNA Talks Back to Nuclear DNA

The DNA communication that streams through the cell isn’t always a top-down affair, a matter of the nucleus issuing directives, in the form of DNA-coded templates, to other cellular components. Sometimes, the relatively lowly mitochondria issue directives—and the nucleus complies. According to a new study from the University of Southern California (USC), mitochondria use a bit of their DNA to encode a protein that can enter the nucleus and regulate the expression of nuclear DNA.This