One of the central questions in our lab is how mitochondria adapt to their environment: the cytoplasm of their host cell. Mitochondrial shape, composition, and metabolism vary across cell types and developmental stages. Changes in mitochondrial composition and function are also hallmarks of mitochondrial diseases, as well as of other types of diseases, such as cancer and neurodegeneration. Our goal is to understand the molecular and metabolic adaptations of mitochondria in response to their cellular context. 

As a computational group, we develop tools and algorithms to analyze and integrate multi-omics data from a mitochondrial perspective and to model mitochondrial metabolism. Resources we develop, such as mitoXplorer(mitoxplorer3.ibdm.univ-amu.fr) and mitoMammal, enable us to explore mitochondrial adaptations in diverse environments and generate testable hypotheses for experimental validation.

In this talk, I will focus on the development and degeneration of the nervous system to illustrate how these analytical approaches can reveal the molecular and metabolic processes underlying mitochondrial function in neuronal cells.