ArticleNature cell biology2026
Programmed mitophagy at the oocyte-to-zygote transition promotes lineage endurance.
Article in Nature cell biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Inheritance and selection of the mitochondrial genome.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- Ovarian toxic effects of micro- and nanoplastics (Review).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Review
- Phenotyping of post-fertilization sperm mitophagy determinants discovered in a mammalian gamete-based cell-free system.Biological research · 2026Article
- MUC1 Protects Preimplantation Embryos In Vitro via Clearance of ROS by Triggering Mitophagy.Cells · 2026Article
- Mitochondrial curation for the next generation.Current opinion in genetics & development · 2025Review
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8 authors.
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Abstract
The quality of mitochondria inherited from the oocyte determines embryonic viability, lifelong metabolic health of the progeny and lineage endurance. High levels of endogenous reactive oxygen species and exogenous toxicants pose threats to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in fully developed oocytes. Deleterious mtDNA is commonly detected in mature oocytes, but is absent in embryos, suggesting the existence of a cryptic purifying selection mechanism. Here, we discover that in Caenorhabditis elegans, the onset of oocyte-to-zygote transition developmentally triggers a rapid mitophagy event. We show that mitophagy at oocyte-to-zygote transition (MOZT) requires mitochondrial fragmentation, the macroautophagy pathway and the mitophagy receptor FUNDC1, but not the prevalent mitophagy factors PINK1 and BNIP3. MOZT reduces the transmission of deleterious mtDNA and as a result, protects embryonic survival. Impaired MOZT drives the increased accumulation of mtDNA mutations across generations, leading to the extinction of descendant populations. Thus, MOZT represents a strategy that preserves mitochondrial health during the mother-to-offspring transmission and safeguards lineage continuity.
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