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Updated: Jul 11, 2025
Development of a Mobile Mitochondrial Physiology Laboratory for Measuring Mitochondrial Energetics in the Field
Published on: August 27, 2021
The allometry of mitochondrial efficiency is tissue dependent: a comparison between skeletal and cardiac muscles of
Jessica Barbe1, Julia Watson1, Damien Roussel1
1Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France.
Abstract:
Body mass is known to be a fundamental driver of many biological traits, including metabolism. However, the effect of body mass on mitochondrial energy transduction is still poorly understood and has mainly been described in mammals. Using 13 species of birds ranging from 15 g (finches) to 160 kg (ostrich), we report here that the mitochondrial production of ATP, and the corresponding oxygen consumption, are negatively dependent on body mass in skeletal muscles but not in the heart. Results also showed that mitochondrial efficiency was positively correlated with body mass at sub-maximal phosphorylating states in the skeletal muscle, but not in the heart. This difference between muscle tissues is potentially linked to the difference in energetic demand expandability and the heavy involvement of skeletal muscle in thermoregulation.
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