Abstract
The energy metabolism of animals is shaped by the ecological niche and requires adaptation and acclimatisation to physiological and environmental challenge. These adjustments are complex at different systemic levels and involve regulation of ATP homeostasis at the cellular level. Mitochondria are central to the conversion of nutrient to cellular energy (ATP). Mitochondrial ATP production is not fully efficient, flexible and allows a certain degree of plasticity for physiological adjustments. As a result of an inefficient energy transduction, by-products such as mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and heat are formed. Thus, a quantifiable knowledge on mitochondrial efficiency is required to understand the significance of mitochondrial adjustments for the biology and fitness of the animal. This chapter serves as a general introduction on the principles of mitochondrial energy transduction and efficiency, how to measure mitochondrial energy transduction in isolated mitochondria, reviews past efforts to elucidate adjustments of mitochondrial mechanisms and suggests future perspectives of mitochondrial bioenergetics in integrative and comparative physiology. In particular novel technologies, such as non-invasive measurement of oxygen consumption and membrane potential with fluorescent probes, allow the assessment of energy transduction in the living cell, therefore becoming the next stage to study mitochondrial energy metabolism.
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Jastroch, M. (2012). Adjustments of Mitochondrial Energy Transduction in Response to Physiological and Environmental Challenge. In: Ruf, T., Bieber, C., Arnold, W., Millesi, E. (eds) Living in a Seasonal World. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28678-0_34
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28678-0_34
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