Subcomplex Iλ Specifically Controls Integrated Mitochondrial Functions in Caenorhabditis elegans

Complex I dysfunction is a common, heterogeneous cause of human mitochondrial disease having poorly understood pathogenesis. The extensive conservation of complex I composition between humans and Caenorhabditis elegans permits analysis of individual subunit contribution to mitochondrial functions at both the whole animal and mitochondrial levels. We provide the first experimentally-verified compilation of complex I composition in C. elegans, demonstrating 84% conservation with human complex I. Individual subunit contribution to mitochondrial respiratory capacity, holocomplex I assembly, and animal anesthetic behavior was studied in C. elegans by RNA interference-generated knockdown of nuclear genes encoding 28 complex I structural subunits and 2 assembly factors. Not all complex I subunits directly impact respiratory capacity. Subcomplex Iλ subunits along the electron transfer pathway specifically control whole animal anesthetic sensitivity and complex II upregulation, proportionate to their relative impairment of complex I-dependent oxidative capacity. Translational analysis of complex I dysfunction facilitates mechanistic understanding of individual gene contribution to mitochondrial disease. We demonstrate that functional consequences of complex I deficiency vary with the particular subunit that is defective

Over-Selectivity is Related to Autism Quotient and Empathizing, But not to Systematizing

The relationships of autism quotient (AQ), systematizing (SQ), and empathizing (EQ), with over-selectivity were explored to assess whether over-selectivity is implicated in complex social skills, which has been assumed, but not experimentally examined. Eighty participants (aged 18–60) were trained on a simultaneous discrimination task (AB+CD−), and tested in extinction on the degree to which they had learned about both elements of the reinforced (AB) compound. Higher AQ and lower EQ scorers demonstrated greater over-selectivity, but there was no relationship between SQ and over-selectivity. These results imply that high AQ scorers perform similarly to individuals with ASD on this cognitive task, and that over-selectivity may be related to some complex social skills, like empathy