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SUMMARY:Transient loss of membrane potential in single plant mitochondria 
 - Markus Schwarzlander\, University of Oxford
DTSTART:20110211T130000Z
DTEND:20110211T133000Z
UID:TALK28379@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:15560
DESCRIPTION:Transient loss of membrane potential in single plant mitochond
 ria. Mitochondria are common to all complex life. They provide energy by r
 espiration - also in plants. When a plant faces changes in its environment
 \, mitochondrial function is often affected. Mitochondrial bioenergetic st
 atus can then change rapidly\, not only lowering energy output but also in
 creasing free radical production that can impact on cell signalling. Seeki
 ng to understand short term bioenergetic changes in plant mitochondria we 
 have recently discovered spontaneous functional fluctuations in mitochondr
 ia in vivo: within a matter of seconds individual mitochondria lose and re
 -gain their membrane potential. Although those 'pulses' happen relatively 
 rarely under physiological conditions they can be strongly induced by a va
 riety of environmental stresses. Studies in isolated mitochondria have rev
 ealed that pulsing causes uncoupling of electron transport and is therefor
 e energetically costly. To further dissect the physiological context of pu
 lsing we have been using a combination of novel genetically encoded probes
  for in vivo measurements of mitochondrial superoxide\, glutathione redox 
 state and calcium dynamics. Our results suggest that mitochondrial pulsing
  is a novel phenomenon in plants and may have an important role in integra
 tion\, maintenance and signaling of mitochondrial function.
LOCATION:Department of Plant Sciences\, Large Lecture Theatre
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