MICOS complex

GO:0061617 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

Mitochondrial inner membrane complex involved in maintenance of crista junctions, inner membrane architecture, and formation of contact sites to the outer membrane. [GO:0061617]

Synonyms: Fcj1 complex; MINOS complex; mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system; MitOS complex

Part of: mitochondrial inner membrane (GO:0005743)

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding-yeast mitochondria contain a MICOS/MitOS/MINOS inner-membrane complex needed for normal crista-junction and inner-membrane organization. [DOI:10.1083/jcb.201107053]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Budding-yeast model in which MICOS was independently defined as an inner-membrane organizing complex by biochemical and genetic analyses. [DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2011.08.026]

Functions

inner mitochondrial membrane organization GO:0007007 — MICOS maintains crista junctions, mitochondrial inner-membrane architecture, and contact sites to the outer mitochondrial membrane.
- GO:0061617 GO:0061617 defines MICOS as a mitochondrial inner-membrane complex involved in crista-junction maintenance, inner-membrane architecture, and outer membrane contact-site formation.
- GO:0007007 GO:0007007 denotes assembly, arrangement or disassembly of the mitochondrial inner membrane.
- DOI:10.1083/jcb.201107053 Hoppins et al. 2011 identified MitOS as a large inner-membrane-associated complex that organizes the mitochondrial inner membrane in budding yeast.
- DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2011.08.026 von der Malsburg et al. 2011 identified MINOS constituents needed to keep crista membranes connected to the inner boundary membrane.

Mechanism graphs

MICOS maintains mitochondrial inner-membrane organization (FUNCTION)

MICOS resides at the mitochondrial inner membrane and helps maintain crista junctions and contact sites with the outer membrane.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
MICOS complex	is part of	mitochondrial inner membrane	`GO:0061617` GO:0061617 defines MICOS as a mitochondrial inner membrane complex.
MICOS complex	maintains	mitochondrial crista junction	`GO:0061617` GO:0061617 defines MICOS by maintenance of crista junctions and inner-membrane architecture. `DOI:10.1083/jcb.201107053` Hoppins et al. 2011 characterized budding yeast MitOS as a conserved complex that establishes normal mitochondrial internal architecture.
MICOS complex	supports	inner mitochondrial membrane organization	`GO:0061617` GO:0061617 links MICOS to crista-junction maintenance, inner membrane architecture, and outer membrane contact sites. `DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2011.08.026` von der Malsburg et al. 2011 identified mitofilin as a central MINOS component that regulates mitochondrial architecture.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral MICOS subunit family groundings before adding MIC10, MIC12, MIC19, MIC26, MIC27, or MIC60 component rows. GO exactly grounds the MICOS complex and names six Saccharomyces cerevisiae subunits, but this first MICOS record leaves individual component rows unasserted until exact taxon-agnostic family identifiers are verified.

Evidence

GO:0061617 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the MICOS complex.
GO:0098800 Gene Ontology cellular-component parent term for inner mitochondrial membrane protein complexes.
GO:0005743 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the mitochondrial inner membrane that contains MICOS.
GO:0007007 Gene Ontology biological-process term for inner mitochondrial membrane organization.
DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2011.08.026 von der Malsburg et al. 2011, 'Dual role of mitofilin in mitochondrial membrane organization and protein biogenesis', Developmental Cell.
DOI:10.1083/jcb.201107053 Hoppins et al. 2011, 'A mitochondrial-focused genetic interaction map reveals a scaffold-like complex required for inner membrane organization in mitochondria', Journal of Cell Biology.
DOI:10.1038/emboj.2011.379 Harner et al. 2011, 'The mitochondrial contact site complex, a determinant of mitochondrial architecture', The EMBO Journal.
DOI:10.1083/jcb.201401006 Pfanner et al. 2014, 'Uniform nomenclature for the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system', Journal of Cell Biology.

Curation history

2026-09-18T19:31:32Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-18T19:32:09Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added GO synonymy, inner-mitochondrial-membrane protein-complex parentage, mitochondrial-inner-membrane parthood, Saccharomyces scope, inner-mitochondrial-membrane-organization function evidence, a nonmechanistic MICOS organization graph, and a MICOS subunit-boundary TODO.
2026-09-18T19:43:23Z codex · REVIEW_FIXES — Resolved PR #1184 review issue #1185 by retyping the MICOS inner-membrane-organization graph as FUNCTION rather than ASSEMBLY.

Source: data/structures/other/micos_complex.yaml