Dr. Min Jiang serves as the Principal Investigator of the Mitochondrial Biology Laboratory within the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University. She earned her Ph.D. in Reproductive Medicine from the National Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine at Nanjing Medical University in 2014. Following that, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Biology and Aging in Germany from 2014 to 2019. Dr. Min Jiang joined the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University in September 2019.

Mitochondria are crucial cellular organelles that not only function as the cell's "powerhouse" but also play critical roles in various biological processes such as the biosynthesis of Fe-S clusters, regulation of apoptosis, and fatty acid oxidation. The functionality of mitochondria is regulated by both nuclear DNA and its own DNA. Mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is circular in shape and encompasses 37 genes. These genes encode two ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and 13 proteins, including essential components of oxidative phosphorylation complexes. Similar to mutations in nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA mutations can lead to various diseases, including MELAS, LHON, and Leigh syndrome. Our previous research has revealed that mtDNA point mutations can cause severe male infertility. However, by manipulating the total mtDNA copy number, we successfully rescued male infertility, thus emphasizing the influence of absolute wild-type mtDNA levels in determining the threshold for mtDNA point mutation-induced infertility.

Currently, our laboratory has adopted the latest techniques in genome editing. We are generating different mouse models with modifications in both nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA to address the following questions:

1. How do mitochondria adjust mtDNA expression in response to cellular energy requirements?

2. What are the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial diseases caused by mtDNA mutations?

3. What is the pattern of maternal transmission of mtDNA and the associated molecular mechanisms?

By exploring these areas, we aim to advance our understanding of mitochondrial biology and contribute to the development of effective treatments for mitochondrial diseases.

1. M. Jiang^#, X. Xie^#, X. Zhu^#, S. Jiang, D. Milenkovic, J. Misic, Y. Shi, N. Tandukar, X. Li, I. Atanassov, L. Jenninger, E. Hoberg, S. Albarran-Gutierrez, Z. Szilagyi, B. Macao, S. J. Siira, V. Carelli, J. D. Griffith, C. M. Gustafsson, T. J. Nicholls, A. Filipovska, N.-G. Larsson, M. Falkenberg, The mitochondrial single-stranded DNA binding protein is essential for initiation of mtDNA replication. Sci Adv. 7, eabf8631 (2021).

2. D. Alsina, O. Lytovchenko, A. Schab, I. Atanassov, F. A. Schober, M. Jiang, C. Koolmeister, A. Wedell, R. W. Taylor, A. Wredenberg, N. Larsson, FBXL4 deficiency increases mitochondrial removal by autophagy. Embo Mol Med. 12, e11659 (2020).

3. S. Jiang, C. Koolmeister, J. Misic, S. Siira, I. Kühl, E. S. Ramos, M. Miranda, M. Jiang, V. Posse, O. Lytovchenko, I. Atanassov, F. A. Schober, R. Wibom, K. Hultenby, D. Milenkovic, C. M. Gustafsson, A. Filipovska, N. Larsson, TEFM regulates both transcription elongation and RNA processing in mitochondria. Embo Rep. 20, e48101 (2019).

4. S. Matic, M. Jiang, T. J. Nicholls, J. P. Uhler, C. Dirksen-Schwanenland, P. L. Polosa, M.-L. Simard, X. Li, I. Atanassov, O. Rackham, A. Filipovska, J. B. Stewart, M. Falkenberg, N.-G. Larsson, D. Milenkovic, Mice lacking the mitochondrial exonuclease MGME1 accumulate mtDNA deletions without developing progeria. Nat Commun. 9, 1202 (2018).

5. M. Jiang, T. E. S. Kauppila, E. Motori, X. Li, I. Atanassov, K. Folz-Donahue, N. A. Bonekamp, S. Albarran-Gutierrez, J. B. Stewart, N.-G. Larsson, Increased Total mtDNA Copy Number Cures Male Infertility Despite Unaltered mtDNA Mutation Load. Cell Metab. 26, 429-436.e4 (2017).

6. M. Jiang^#, M. Gao^#, C. Wu^#, H. He, X. Guo, Z. Zhou, H. Yang, X. Xiao, G. Liu, J. Sha, Lack of testicular seipin causes teratozoospermia syndrome in men. Proc National Acad Sci. 111, 7054–7059 (2014).

7. G. Sun, M. Jiang, T. Zhou, Y. Guo, Y. Cui, X. Guo, J. Sha, Insights into the lysine acetylproteome of human sperm. J Proteomics. 109, 199–211 (2014).

8. Y. Qi^#, M. Jiang^#, Y. Yuan, Y. Bi, B. Zheng, X. Guo, X. Huang, Z. Zhou, J. Sha, ADP-ribosylation factor-like 3, a manchette-associated protein, is essential for mouse spermiogenesis. Molecular Human Reproduction. 19, 327–335 (2013).

9. M. Zhang, M. Jiang, Y. Bi, H. Zhu, Z. Zhou, J. Sha, Autophagy and Apoptosis Act as Partners to Induce Germ Cell Death after Heat Stress in Mice. Plos One. 7, e41412 (2012).

# These authors contribute equally