Intramitochondrial substrate concentration as a factor controlling metabolism. The role of interanion competition.

1. The concentration-dependence of the intramitochondrial accumulation of l-malate and succinate was measured and expressed in the form of adsorption isotherms. The accumulation, however, may arise because of an internal positive potential. 2. The competition for accumulation offered by some other anions, including phosphate, was measured and is expressed conventionally by additional terms in the adsorption equation. 3. The interactions between anions were also studied when one was acting as oxidized substrate. 4. In some examples there is a parallel between the effects of an added anion on both accumulation and oxidation; in other cases chemical participation of the added substance in metabolism is presumed to remove the correlation. 5. It is suggested that by combining kinetic data on penetration with stoicheiometric data on accumulation and specific reaction rates it may be possible to account for the rates of respiration obtained with intact mitochondria. 6. It is possible to show that there is a certain phosphate/substrate ratio for maximum phosphorylation rate with some substrates. This is to be expected when phosphate and substrate compete for accumulation.