Discussion

Trypanosomes contain a single organelle with a single genome and thus organelle biogenesis is tightly integrated into the cell cycle. Biogenesis of the mitochondrion during the cell cycle requires mass increase, replication of the organelle´s genome and finally the proper segregation of the genome and the organelle into the two daughter cells. Using a combination of quantitative epifluorescence and superresolution microscopy we suggest a model of organelle mass increase during the cell cycle in the parasite. Furthermore, we have characterized novel components of the mitochondrial genome segregation machinery and propose a model of how this large, two membrane spanning complex is assembled during the cell cycle.