Unconventional targeting of a thiol peroxidase to the mitochondrial intermembrane space facilitates oxidative protein folding

Thiol peroxidases are conserved hydrogen peroxide scavenging and signaling molecules which contain redox active cysteine residues. We show here that Gpx3, the major H2O2-sensor in yeast, is present in the mitochondrial intermembrane space (IMS) where it serves a compartment-specific role in oxidative metabolism. The IMS-localized Gpx3 contains an 18 amino-acid N-terminally extended form encoded from a non-AUG codon. This acts as a mitochondrial targeting signal, in a pathway independent of the hitherto known IMS-import pathways. Mitochondrial Gpx3 interacts with the Mia40 xidoreductase in a redox-dependent manner and promotes efficient Mia40- dependent oxidative protein folding. We show that cells lacking Gpx3 have aberrant mitochondrial morphology, defective protein import capacity and lower inner membrane potential, all of which can be rescued by expression of a mitochondrial-only form of Gpx3. Together, our data reveal a novel role for Gpx3 in mitochondrial redox regulation and protein homeostasis.