Absence of Complex I Implicates Rearrangement of the Respiratory Chain in European Mistletoe (Current Biology)

Complex I is considered to be an essential component of the respiratory chain of all multicellular eukaryotes. Senkler et al. show that the European mistletoe, a semiparasitic flowering plant, lacks complex I. As a consequence, the respiratory chain is rearranged. It is composed of stable III+IV supercomplexes and alternative oxidoreductases.