A mitochondrial orphan protein contributes to sperm development in bivalves

MORF, a rapidly evolving mitochondrial ORFan protein in DUI bivalves, localizes to developing sperm and mature sperm mitochondria and is linked to mitochondrial organization during spermatogenesis.

• Why it matters: Lineage-specific mitochondrial genes are poorly studied, leaving a gap in whether mitochondrial orphan genes contribute to phenotypic diversification beyond model nuclear systems.
• What they did: In Mytilus edulis and Venustaconcha ellipsiformis, the study used immunolocalization, antibody-mediated neutralization in cultured germ cells, protein interaction assays, and proteomics to map MORF associations.
• The result: Neutralizing MORF in cultured Mytilus edulis germ cells increased spermatids with four mitochondria instead of the canonical five, and proteomics plus western blotting supported MORF–laminin association in both species.

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