Neurospora crassa as a Model Organism for Mitochondrial Biogenesis

Neurospora crassa has proven to be an excellent organism for studying various aspects of the biology of mitochondria by biochemical and genetic approaches. As N. crassa is an obligate aerobe and contains complex I, its mitochondria are more similar to mammalian mitochondria than those of yeast. The recent sequencing of the genome of N. crassa and a gene knockout project that is under way make the organism even more attractive. We describe some of the advantages of N. crassa as a model organism and present methods for isolation of mitochondria, fractionation of these organelles, and disruption of essential genes in this organism.