High-resolution system for the measurement of plant respiratory pathway capacity

这笔赠款将购买一台高分辨率Oroboros Oxygraph 2K微型呼吸仪，该呼吸仪将用于通过准确测量植物细胞、离体膜和线粒体的耗氧率来评估有氧活动。威尔弗里德·劳里埃大学的申请者将使用该系统来研究线粒体呼吸对各种植物物种适应和生存各种环境压力的能力所起的作用。所有植物细胞都含有线粒体，线粒体利用氧气，同时将碳分子(如糖)转化为能量。植物线粒体包含两条呼吸途径：细胞色素c氧化酶途径，它存在于包括人类在内的大多数生物体中；另一种途径是交替氧化酶途径，其分布较为有限。在拥有两条途径的生物体中，呼吸作用可以通过一条途径或两条途径的组合发生。该仪器将用于在呼吸抑制剂存在的情况下测量这些途径的线粒体耗氧量，以评估每个途径在正常条件下和环境应激条件下对呼吸的贡献。威尔弗里德·劳里埃研究所没有所要求的仪器，而且测量细胞、膜和线粒体的呼吸需要在分离后不久进行测量，这使得在另一家机构使用这种设备是不切实际的。该仪器将有助于在我的实验室对HQP进行培训，以及与我们的综合生物学研究生项目相关的受训者。这台设备对我的研究项目至关重要，是将我们的分子生物学、生物信息学和生化数据与我们在细胞、生理和整个生物体层面的工作相结合的一种手段。线粒体耗氧方式的改变在包括衰老和疾病在内的许多生理现象中都是重要的，需要更好地了解这些过程。

This grant will purchase a high-resolution Oroboros Oxygraph 2K micro-respirometer that will be used to assess aerobic activity by accurately measuring oxygen consumption rates in plant cells, isolated membranes, and mitochondria. The system will be used by the applicant at Wilfrid Laurier University to investigate the role of mitochondrial respiration on the ability of a wide variety of plant species to adapt to and survive various environmental stresses. All plant cells contain mitochondria which use oxygen while converting carbon molecules, such as sugars, into energy. Plant mitochondria contain two respiratory pathways; the cytochrome c oxidase pathway, which is found in most organisms, including humans, and the alternative oxidase pathway, which has a more limited distribution. In organisms that have both pathways, respiration can occur using one pathway or a combination of both. The instrument will be used to measure the oxygen consumption of mitochondria in the presence of respiratory inhibitors for these pathways in order to assess each pathway's contribution to respiration under normal conditions and under conditions of environmental stress. The requested instrumentation is not available at Wilfrid Laurier, and the measurement of respiration in cells, membranes, and mitochondria requires that measurements be taken shortly after their isolation, making the use of this equipment at another institution impractical. The instrument will contribute to the training of HQP in my laboratory as well as trainees associated with our Integrative Biology graduate program. This equipment is vital to my research program and serves as a means of integrating our molecular biology, bioinformatics, and biochemical data with our work at the cellular, physiological, and whole organism levels. Alterations in the way mitochondria consume oxygen are important in many physiological phenomena including aging and disease, and a better understanding of these processes is needed.