Biological process

The morphological and physiological alterations undergone by mitochondria during apoptosis.

This term was created to reflect the fundamental role of the mitochondrial compartment in apoptosis. Most processes under this node occur during the signaling phase of apoptosis, but e.g. GO:0043653 'mitochondrial fragmentation involved in apoptotic process' cannot be confidently placed under the signaling phase. For this reason, the parent term GO:0008637 'apoptotic mitochondrial changes' is not linked to the signaling or execution phase specifically, but its descendants are when current knowledge allows for it.