Plant Mitochondria From Genome To Function

Mitochondria in plants, as in other eukaryotes, play an essential role in the cell as the major producers of ATP via oxidative phosphorylation. However, mitochondria also play crucial roles in many other aspects of plant development and performance, and possess an array of unique properties which allow them to interact with the specialized features of plant cell metabolism. The two main themes running through the book are the interconnection between gene regulation and protein function, and the integration of mitochondria with other components of plant cells. The book begins with an overview of the dynamics of mitochondrial structure, morphology and inheritance. It then discusses the biogenesis of mitochondria, the regulation of gene expression, the mitochondrial genome and its interaction with the nucleus, and the targeting of proteins to the organelle. This is followed by a discussion of the contributions that mutations, involving mitochondrial proteins, have made to our understanding of the way the organelle interacts with the rest of the plant cell, and the new field of proteomics and the discovery of new functions. Also covered are the pathways of electron transport, with special attention to the non-phosphorylating bypasses, metabolite transport, and specialized mitochondrial metabolism. In the end, the impact of oxidative stress on mitochondria and the defense mechanisms, that are employed to allow survival, are discussed. This book is for the use of advanced undergraduates, graduates, postgraduates, and beginning researchers in the areas of molecular and cellular biology, integrative biology, biochemistry, bioenergetics, proteomics and plant and agricultural sciences.

Mitochondria are the product of a long evolutionary history. It is now a well established fact that mitochondria did evolve from free living bacteria being the common ancestor of both, eukaryotic mitochondria and α-proteobacteria. Advances in genome sequencing, the establishment of in organello and in vitro assays to name only a few, contributed significantly to advances in plant mitochondrial research. Second generation sequencing and the ability to directly sequence and analyse the whole plant transcriptome certainly will help to develop the research on plant mitochondria to another level in the future. In this book the current knowledge about plant mitochondria is presented in a series of detailed chapters, which have been organized in five main sections: (i) dynamics, genes and genomes; (ii) transcription and RNA processing; (iii) translation and import; (iv) biochemistry, regulation and function; and (v) mitochondrial dysfunction and repair. These sections consist of two to five chapters, each written by well-known specialists in the field. This book thus provides a comprehensive inside in the field of plant mitochondria for the specialist. The addition of a glossary and text boxes to each chapter provides easy access for readers from other subjects and hopefully will attract young scientist to the fascinating and exiting field of plant mitochondria.

Mitochondria in Higher Plants: Structure, Function, and Biogenesis is a collection and interpretation of information on plant mitochondria. It explains not only the basic enzymology of ATP synthesis coupled to electron transport that seems to constitute the major activity of the mitochondria, but also many other aspects that make plant mitochondria rather more diverse than their animal counterparts. Organized into five chapters, this book begins with the morphological and cytological observations on mitochondria, and proceeding through membrane and matrix functions to participation in metabolism and biogenesis. Each section presents the unique properties of plant mitochondria within the framework of general mitochondrial structure and function. This book is intended not only for research workers and students interested in the enzymology of plant mitochondria respiration, but also for graduate and undergraduate students in the field of plant biochemistry, cell physiology, and molecular biology. It will be useful as a starting point for those students wishing to pursue special studies in this field.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Plant Mitochondria" that was published in IJMS

Mitochondria are critical organelles in the metabolic regulation ofalmost all eukaryotic organisms. Knowledge of their biochemistryand molecular biology in plants has been fuelled over recent yearsby the rapid progress made in genome sequencing and the ability tomanipulate gene expression. Plant Mitochondria contains chapters written by many ofthe world’s leading researchers in this area, bringingtogether and reviewing for the first time many recent advances.Contents include coverage of mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrialgenome instability, expression of the plant mitochondrial genome,import of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins, mitochondrialrespiratory complex biogenesis, supramolecular structure of theOXPHOS system, mitochondrial electron transport and oxidativestress, mitochondrial metabolism, cytoplasmic male sterilities andmitochondrial gene mutations, and the mitochondrion in plantprogrammed cell death. Plant Mitochondria is an extremely important and timelyaddition to Blackwell Publishing’s Annual Plant Reviewsseries. David Logan, well known and respected internationally forhis work in this area, has brought together a truly valuable volumeof great use and interest to plant scientists, cell and molecularbiologists, and biochemists. Libraries in all universities andresearch establishments where biological sciences are studied andtaught should have copies of this important book on theirshelves.

The primary function of mitochondria is respiration, where the catabolism of substrates is coupled to ATP synthesis via oxidative phosphorylation. In plants, mitochondrial composition is relatively complex and flexible and has specific pathways to support photosynthetic processes in illuminated leaves. Plant mitochondria also play important roles in a variety of cellular processes associated with carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur metabolism. Research on plant mitochondria has rapidly developed in the last few decades with the availability of the genome sequences for a wide range of model and crop plants. Recent prominent themes in plant mitochondrial research include linking mitochondrial composition to environmental stress responses, and how this oxidative stress impacts on the plant mitochondrial function. Similarly, interest in the signaling capacity of mitochondria, the role of reactive oxygen species, and retrograde and anterograde signaling has revealed the transcriptional changes of stress responsive genes as a framework to define specific signals emanating to and from the mitochondrion. There has also been considerable interest in the unique RNA metabolic processes in plant mitochondria, including RNA transcription, RNA editing, the splicing of group I and group II introns, and RNA degradation and translation. Despite their identification more than 100 years ago, plant mitochondria remain a significant area of research in the plant sciences. This Special Issue, "Plant Mitochondria", will cover a selection of recent research topics and timely review articles in the field of plant mitochondrial research.

We have taught plant molecular biology and biotechnology at the undergraduate and graduate level for over 20 years. In the past few decades, the field of plant organelle molecular biology and biotechnology has made immense strides. From the green revolution to golden rice, plant organelles have revolutionized agriculture. Given the exponential growth in research, the problem of finding appropriate textbooks for courses in plant biotechnology and molecular biology has become a major challenge. After years of handing out photocopies of various journal articles and reviews scattered through out the print and electronic media, a serendipitous meeting occurred at the 2002 IATPC World Congress held in Orlando, Florida. After my talk and evaluating several posters presented by investigators from my laboratory, Dr. Jacco Flipsen, Publishing Manager of Kluwer Publishers asked me whether I would consider editing a book on Plant Organelles. I accepted this challenge, after months of deliberations, primarily because I was unsuccessful in finding a text book in this area for many years. I signed the contract with Kluwer in March 2003 with a promise to deliver a camera-ready textbook on July 1, 2004. Given the short deadline and the complexity of the task, I quickly realized this task would need a co-editor. Dr. Christine Chase was the first scientist who came to my mind because of her expertise in plant mitochondria, and she readily agreed to work with me on this book.

Advances in Botanical Research publishes in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a wide range of topics in plant sciences. Features a wide range of reviews by recognized experts on all aspects of plant genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, physiology and ecology. This thematic volume features reviews on Mitochondrial genome evolution. Publishes in-depth and up-to-date reviews on a wide range of topics in plant sciences Features a wide range of reviews by recognized experts on all aspects of plant genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, physiology and ecology This thematic volume features reviews on mitochondrial genome evolution