The discovery that cell death in nematode worms induces fragmentation of mitochondria reveals a new parallel to the death process in mammals, and may shed light on why mitochondria divide in death. When mammalian cells die by the process of apoptosis,their mitochondria fragment into smaller pieces. Why these power-generating compartments should divide as the cell around them dies, and whether this fragmentation is important for the death process or simply an epiphenomenon, has so far largely remained unclear. But an answer is suggested by the paper from Conradt and colleagues on page 754 of this issue. The authors show that mitochondria also fragment during apoptosis in the small nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Moreover, experimental induction or prevention of mitochondrial fragmentation could respectively enhance or partially prevent apoptosis. These observations hint that mitochondrial fragmentation has an evolutionarily conserved, causative role in promoting apoptotic cell death.
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