Cone photoreceptors transfer damaged mitochondria to Müller glia.

Mitochondria are vital organelles that require sophisticated homeostatic mechanisms for maintenance. Intercellular transfer of damaged mitochondria is a recently identified strategy broadly used to improve cellular health and viability. Here, we investigate mitochondrial homeostasis in the vertebrate cone photoreceptor, the specialized neuron that initiates our daytime and color vision. We find a generalizable response to mitochondrial stress that leads to loss of cristae, displacement of damaged mitochondria from their normal cellular location, initiation of degradation, and transfer to Müller glia cells, a key non-neuronal support cell in the retina. Our findings show transmitophagy from cones to Müller glia as a response to mitochondrial damage. Intercellular transfer of damaged mitochondria represents an outsourcing mechanism that photoreceptors use to support their specialized function.

A highly conserved zebrafish IMPDH retinal isoform produces the majority of guanine and forms dynamic protein filaments in photoreceptor cells.

Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is a key regulatory enzyme in the de novo synthesis of the purine base guanine. Dominant mutations in human IMPDH1 cause photoreceptor degeneration for reasons that are unknown. Here, we sought to provide some foundational information on Impdh1a in the zebrafish retina. We found that in zebrafish, gene subfunctionalization due to ancestral duplication resulted in a predominant retinal variant expressed exclusively in rod and cone photoreceptors. This variant is structurally and functionally similar to the human IMPDH1 retinal variant and shares a reduced sensitivity to GTP-mediated inhibition. We also demonstrated that Impdh1a forms prominent protein filaments in vitro and in vivo in both rod and cone photoreceptor cell bodies, synapses, and to a lesser degree, in outer segments. These filaments changed length and cellular distribution throughout the day consistent with diurnal changes in both mRNA and protein levels. The loss of Impdh1a resulted in a substantial reduction of guanine levels, although cellular morphology and cGMP levels remained normal. Our findings demonstrate a significant role for IMPDH1 in photoreceptor guanine production and provide fundamental new information on the details of this protein in the zebrafish retina.