Abstract
Mitochondria are essential organelles of eukaryotic cells with key functions in metabolism, apoptosis, and signaling. As a result, impaired mitochondrial function has been associated with numerous diseases. In order to understand mitochondrial processes, it is fundamental to gain knowledge about their structure and microcompartmentalization, including the function, organization, and dynamics of their protein, nucleic acid, and lipid components. A number of recent groundbreaking advances in fluorescence microscopy enable the study of mitochondrial biology with unprecedented detail. Among them, new methods based on single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy allow us to study mitochondrial structures, protein organizations, and dynamics. Here, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different single-molecule microscopy methods to study individual proteins in fixed and living cells in the background of mitochondrial processes, in situ.
