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In Search of Mitochondrial Mechanisms: Interfield Excursions between Cell Biology and Biochemistry

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Abstract

Developing models of biological mechanisms, such as those involved in respiration in cells, often requires collaborative effort drawing upon techniques developed and information generated in different disciplines. Biochemists in the early decades of the 20th century uncovered all but the most elusive chemical operations involved in cellular respiration, but were unable to align the reaction pathways with particular structures in the cell. During the period 1940–1965 cell biology was emerging as a new discipline and made distinctive contributions to understanding the role of the mitochondrion and its component parts in cellular respiration. In particular, by developing techniques for localizing enzymes or enzyme systems in specific cellular components, cell biologists provided crucial information about the organized structures in which the biochemical reactions occurred. Although the idea that biochemical operations are intimately related to and depend on cell structures was at odds with the then-dominant emphasis on systems of soluble enzymes in biochemistry, a reconceptualization of energetic processes in the 1960s and 1970s made it clear why cell structure was critical to the biochemical account. This paper examines how numerous excursions between biochemistry and cell biology contributed a new understanding of the mechanism of cellular respiration.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the editors and two anonymous referees for their extremely helpful suggestions on an earlier version of this paper. One referee proposed the term “interfield excursions,” which well captured our intent. We are also most appreciative of insightful comments on the manuscript provided by Rita Anderson, Lindley Darden, and members of the DC History and Philosophy of Biology Group.

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  1. Department of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego, Campus Box 0119, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0119, USA

    William Bechtel & Adele Abrahamsen

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  1. William Bechtel
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  2. Adele Abrahamsen
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Correspondence to William Bechtel.

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Bechtel, W., Abrahamsen, A. In Search of Mitochondrial Mechanisms: Interfield Excursions between Cell Biology and Biochemistry. J Hist Biol 40, 1–33 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-006-9103-7

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