Mitochondria

Background Information

Mitochondria generate usable energy from food to power the cell. These organelles have a very
distinctive structure when seen with an electron microscope: each mitochondrion appears sausage- or
worm shaped, from one to many micrometers long; and each is enclosed in two separate membranes. The
inner membrane is formed into folds that project into the interior of the mitochondrion. Mitochondria
contain their own DNA and reproduce by dividing in two. Because mitochondria resemble bacteria in so
many ways, they are thought to derive from bacteria that were engulfed by some ancestor of present-day
eukaryotic cells. This evidently created a symbiotic relationship in which the host eukaryote and the
engulfed bacterium helped one another to survive and reproduce.

Observation under the microscope by itself gives little indication of what mitochondria do. Their function
was discovered by breaking open cells and then spinning the soup of cell fragments in a centrifuge; this
separates the organelles according to their size, shape, and density. Purified mitochondria were then tested
to see what chemical processes they could perform. This revealed that mitochondria are generators of
chemical energy for the cell. They harness the energy from the oxidation of food molecules, such as
sugars, to produce adenosine triphosphate, or ATP-the basic chemical fuel that powers most of the cell’s
activities. Because the mitochondrion consumes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide in the course of this
activity, the entire process is called cellular respiration-essentially, breathing on a cellular level.

Without mitochondria, animals, fungi, and plants would be unable to use oxygen to extract the maximum
amount of energy from the food molecules that nourish them. Oxygen would be a poison for them, rather
than an essential requirement-that is, they would be anaerobic. Many prokaryotes are anaerobic, and there
are even a few anaerobic eukaryotes, such as the intestinal parasite Giardia, that lack mitochondria and
live only in environments that are low in oxygen.

A typical plant cell has two types of energy-producing organelles: mitochondria and chloroplasts. Both
types are separated from the cytosol by a double membrane outer and an inner membrane). Mitochondria
(singular mitochondrion) are the cellular sites of respiration, a process in which the energy released from
sugar metabolism is used for the synthesis of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) from ADP (adenosine
diphosphate) and inorganic phosphate (Pi). Mitochondria can vary in shape from spherical to tubular, but
they all have a smooth outer membrane and a highly convoluted inner membrane. The infoldings of the
inner membrane are called cristae.

Introduction to mitochondrial structure

A mitochondrion contains outer and inner membranes composed of phospholipid bilayers and proteins.
The two membranes have different properties. Because of this double-membrane organization, there are
five distinct parts to a mitochondrion. They are:

1. Outer mitochondrial membrane

2. Intermembrane space (the space between the outer and inner membranes)
3. Inner mitochondrial membrane
4. Cristae space (formed by infoldings of the inner membrane)
5. Matrix (space within the inner membrane).
Ultra structure of Mitochondria

Mitochondria are semiautonomous organelles. In electron micrographs, plant mitochondria - whether in

situ or in vitro - usually look spherical or rod-like, ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 µm in diameter and up to 3 µm
in length. The ultra-structural features of plant mitochondria are similar to those of mitochondria in non-
plant tissues. Plant mitochondria have two membranes: A smooth outer membrane that completely
surrounds a highly invaginated inner membrane. The invaginations of the inner membrane are known as
cristae. As a consequence of the greatly enlarged surface area, the inner membrane can contain more than
50% of the total mitochondrial protein. The aqueous phase contained within the inner membrane is
referred to as the mitochondrial matrix (plural matrices), and the region between the two mitochondrial
membranes is known as the inter-membrane space. Intact mitochondria are osmotically active; that is,
they take up water and swell when placed in a hypo-osmotic medium. Most inorganic ions and charged
organic molecules are not able to diffuse freely into the matrix space. The inner membrane is the osmotic
barrier; the outer membrane is permeable to solutes. The lipid fraction of both membranes is primarily
made up of phospholipids, 80% of which are either phosphatidylcholine or phosphatidylethanolamine.

The compartment enclosed by the inner membrane, the mitochondrial matrix, contains the enzymes of the
pathway of intermediary metabolism called the Krebs cycle. In contrast to the mitochondrial outer
membrane and all other membranes in the cell, the inner membrane of a mitochondrion is almost 70%
protein and contains some phospholipids that are unique to the organelle (e.g., cardiolipin). The proteins
in and on the inner membrane have special enzymatic and transport capacities The inner membrane is
highly impermeable to the passage of H+; that is, it serves as a barrier to the movement of protons. This
important feature allows the formation of electrochemical gradients. Dissipation of such gradients by the
controlled movement of H+ ions through the transmembrane enzyme ATP synthase is coupled to the
phosphorylation of ADP to produce ATP. ATP can then be released to other cellular sites where energy is
needed to drive specific reactions.

Functions

The major functions of the mitochondria are considered below;

a. Energy conversion

A dominant role for the mitochondria is the production of ATP, as reflected by the large number of
proteins in the inner membrane for this task. This is done by oxidizing the major products of glucose:
pyruvate, and NADH, which are produced in the cytosol. This type of cellular respiration known as
aerobic respiration, is dependent on the presence of oxygen.

b. Pyruvate and the citric acid cycle

Pyruvate molecules produced by glycolysis are actively transported across the inner mitochondrial
membrane, and into the matrix where they can either be oxidized and combined with coenzyme A to form
CO2, acetyl-CoA, and NADH, or they can be carboxylated (by pyruvate carboxylase) to form
oxaloacetate. This latter reaction ”fills up” the amount of oxaloacetate in the citric acid cycle, and is
therefore an anaplerotic reaction, increasing the cycle’s capacity to metabolize acetyl-CoA when the
tissue's energy needs (e.g. in muscle) are suddenly increased by activity.

c. NADH and FADH2: the Electron Transport Chain

The energy rich compounds (NADH and FADH2) are oxidized and the electrons are transferred to oxygen
(O2) in several steps via the electron transport chain. The incremental release of energy is used to pump
protons (H+) into the intermembrane space. The proton concentration increases in the intermembrane
space, a strong electrochemical gradient is established across the inner membrane. The protons can return
to the matrix through the ATP synthase complex, and their potential energy is used to synthesize ATP
from ADP and inorganic phosphate (Pi).

d. Heat production

Under certain conditions, protons can re-enter the mitochondrial matrix without contributing to ATP
synthesis. This process is known as proton leak or mitochondrial uncoupling and is due to the facilitated
diffusion of protons into the matrix. The process results in the unharnessed potential energy of the proton
electrochemical gradient being released as heat.

e. Storage of calcium ions

The concentrations of free calcium in the cell can regulate an array of reactions and is important for signal
transduction in the cell. Mitochondria can transiently store calcium, a contributing process for the cell's
homeostasis of calcium

Additional functions

Some of the additional functions of mitochondria are as follows;

• Signaling through mitochondrial reactive oxygen species,

• Regulation of the membrane potential,
• Apoptosis-programmed cell death
• Calcium signaling (including calcium-evoked apoptosis)
• Regulation of cellular metabolism
• Certain heme synthesis reactions
• Steroid synthesis, hormonal signaling
• Ascorbic acid synthesis in plants