Abstract
Mitochondria are sites for respiration to produce chemical energy via oxidative phosphorylation. Their primary role has been viewed as the oxidation of organic acids via the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and the synthesis of ATP coupled to the transfer of electrons to O2. TCA cycle enzymes are essential for plant carbon metabolism and provide the reductant for the electron transport chain (ETC) enzymes that in turn drives ATP synthesis. The activity of individual enzymes will determine the flux of metabolism and thus the downstream consequences for respiration rate. Measurements of activities of mitochondrial enzymes, such as components of TCA cycle and the ETC, can provide insight into regulation of mitochondrial function. The activities of these enzymes vary between developmental stages, in different tissues, and in response to environmental conditions. In this chapter, methods for enzymatic assay of TCA cycle enzymes and a number of the ETC complex enzymes are described in detail.
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Acknowledgements
AHM is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) through the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology (CE140100008). SH and AHM are supported by ARC Future Fellowship (FT130101338 and FT110100242). CPL is funded by a long-term EMBO Fellowship (ALTF1140-2011).
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Huang, S., Lee, C.P., Millar, A.H. (2015). Activity Assay for Plant Mitochondrial Enzymes. In: Whelan, J., Murcha, M. (eds) Plant Mitochondria. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1305. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2639-8_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2639-8_10
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
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