Procedures of Mitochondria Purification and Gene Expression to Study Alternative Respiratory and Uncoupling Pathways in Fruits.

We describe detailed procedures to get intact and well-coupled mitochondria from a variety of fruit species such as papaya (Carica papaya), guava (Psidium guajava), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) as well as the protocols to assess the capacities of AOX and UCP pathways in intact fruit mitochondria. The procedures presented here were tested for the species mentioned above; their use with other types of fruits must be tested for yield of intact and active mitochondria. This is possible from individual adjustments.