title: Mitochondria as we don't know them.
abstract: Biochemistry textbooks depict mitochondria as oxygen-dependent organelles, but many mitochondria can produce ATP without using any oxygen. In fact, several other types of mitochondria exist and they occur in highly diverse groups of eukaryotes - protists as well as metazoans - and possess an often overlooked diversity of pathways to deal with the electrons resulting from carbohydrate oxidation. These anaerobically functioning mitochondria produce ATP with the help of proton-pumping electron transport, but they do not need oxygen to do so. Recent advances in understanding of mitochondrial biochemistry provide many surprises and furthermore, give insights into the evolutionary history of ATP-producing organelles.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, PO Box 80176, The Netherlands. tielens@biochem.vet.uu.nl
authors.forename: Aloysius G M
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Tielens
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rotte
authors.forename: Jaap J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: van Hellemond
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000818:Animals; D004579:Electron Transport / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000502:physiology; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D017494:Proton Pumps / Q000378:metabolism; D013385:Succinate Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017494:Proton Pumps; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D013385:Succinate Dehydrogenase; D010100:Oxygen