Abstract

Mitochondria are essential cellular organelles and the location of the electron transport chain, the site of the majority of energy production in the cell. Mitochondria contain their own circular genome approximately 16,000 base pairs in length. The mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) encodes 11 protein-coding genes essential for the electron transport chain, 22 tRNA genes, and two rRNA genes. Mitochondrial malfunction occurs in many diseases, and changes in the mitochondrial genome lead to numerous disorders. Multiple mitochondrial haplotypes and sequence features are associated with Alzheimer's disease. In this dissertation we utilized TreeScanning, an evolutionary-based haplotype approach to identify haplotypes and sequence variation associated with specific phenotypes: Alzheimer's disease case-control status, mitochondrial copy number, and 16 neuroimaging phenotypes related to Alzheimer's disease neurodegeneration. In the first two studies we utilized 1007 complete mitochondrial genomes from participants in the Cache County Study on Memory Health and Aging. First, individuals with mitochondrial haplotypes H6A1A and H6A1B showed a reduced risk of AD. Our study is the largest to date and the only study with complete mtDNA genome sequence data. Next, each cell contains multiple mitochondria, and each mitochondrion contains multiple copies of its own circular genome. The ratio of mitochondrial genomes to nuclear genomes is referred to as mitochondrial copy number. Decreases in mitochondrial copy number are known to occur in many tissues as people age, and in certain diseases. Three variants belonging to mitochondrial haplogroups U5A1 and T2 were significantly associated with higher mitochondrial copy number in our dataset. Each of these three variants was associated with higher mitochondrial copy number and we suggest several hypotheses for how these variants influence mitochondrial copy number by interacting with known regulators of mitochondrial copy number. Our results are the first to report sequence variation in the mitochondrial genome that lead to changes in mitochondrial copy number. The identification of these variants that increase mtDNA copy number has important implications in understanding the pathological processes that underlie these phenotypes. Lastly, we used an endophenotype-based approach to further characterize mitochondrial genetic variation and its relationship to risk markers for Alzheimer's disease. We analyzed longitudinal data from non-demented, mild cognitive impairment, and late onset Alzheimer's disease participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative with genetic, brain imaging, and behavioral data. Four clades were associated with three different endophenotypes: whole brain volume, percent change in temporal pole thickness, and left hippocampal atrophy over two years. This was the first study of its kind to identify mitochondrial variation associated with brain imaging endophenotypes of Alzheimer's disease. Together, these projects provide evidence of mtDNA involvement in the risk and physiological changes of Alzheimer's disease.

Degree

PhD

College and Department

Life Sciences; Biology

Rights

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