The balance between the fission and fusion mechanisms regulate the morphology of
mitochondria. In this study we have identified a mammalian protein that we call hFis1, which
is the orthologue of the yeast Fis1p known to participate in yeast mitochondrial division.
hFis1, when overexpressed in various cell types, localized to the outer mitochondrial
membrane and induced mitochondrial fission. This event was inhibited by a dominant
negative mutant of Drp1 (Drp1 (K38A)), a major component of the fission apparatus …