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Assessment of Respiration in Isolated Plant Mitochondria Using Clark-Type Electrodes

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Plant Mitochondria

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1305))

Abstract

Mitochondrial respiration involves two key gas exchanges, the consumption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide. The ability to measure the consumption of oxygen via Clark-type electrodes has been one of the key techniques for advancing our knowledge of mitochondrial function in whole organisms, tissue samples, cells, and isolated subcellular fractions. In plants, oxygen electrode analyses provided the first evidence for some of the unique respiratory properties of plant mitochondria. This chapter briefs the principles of respiration and oxidative phosphorylation, how oxygen consumption measurements can be used to assess the quality of isolated mitochondrial preparations, and how these measurements can answer important questions in plant biochemistry and physiology. Finally, it presents instructions on assembling the oxygen electrode apparatus and how to conduct various assays.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Peter Rank (Rank Brothers Limited) for granting permission to use Fig. 2. This work is supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology and NLT and AHM as Australian Research Council Future Fellows.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Energy Biology, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Richard P. Jacoby, A. Harvey Millar & Nicolas L. Taylor

  2. Centre for Comparative Analysis of Biomolecular Networks (CABiN), The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Richard P. Jacoby, A. Harvey Millar & Nicolas L. Taylor

Authors
  1. Richard P. Jacoby
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  2. A. Harvey Millar
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  3. Nicolas L. Taylor
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas L. Taylor .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia

    James Whelan

  2. The University of Western Australia, Crawley, West Australia, Australia

    Monika W. Murcha

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Jacoby, R.P., Millar, A.H., Taylor, N.L. (2015). Assessment of Respiration in Isolated Plant Mitochondria Using Clark-Type Electrodes. 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_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2639-8_12

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2638-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2639-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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