Clearing damaged mitochondrial DNA

How cells respond to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage is not fully understood. 

mtDNA damage results in active mtDNA clearance, independent of mitophagy or cell cycle progression.

The authors show that the exonuclease activity of Mip1, the mitochondrial replicative polymerase, is essential for degrading mtDNA under damage conditions, demonstrating its dual role in replication and damage response.

They also demonstrate that cellular dNTP pools influence the rate of mtDNA degradation.

https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.1038/s44319-025-00380-1

https://sciencemission.com/damaged-mitochondrial-DNA-clearance