Taxonomic Features of Specific Ca2+ Transport Mechanisms in Mitochondria

Mitochondria play an important role in the regulation of intracellular Ca 2+ homeostasis in Eukaryotes. Progress in the development of molecular and genetic methods for the study of living systems made it possible to identify the structures that carry specific Ca 2+ transport in mitochondria, including Ca 2+ uniporter (MCU), Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger (NCLX) and Ca 2+ /H + antiporter (Letm1). The study of the architecture and functioning of these systems at different levels of the organization of living organisms can provide insight into the origin and evolution of the systems of Ca 2+ homeostasis and also reveal general mechanisms of regulation and control of these systems in normal and pathological conditions. This review is focused on the taxonomic features of the structure and functioning of specific calcium transport systems in eukaryotic mitochondria and provides evidence of the presence of homologous structures in prokaryotic organisms.