Substrate and acute temperature effects on turtle heart and liver mitochondria.

The oxidative properties of heart and liver mitochondria from the Western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) were characterized on the basis of substrate preferences and temperature sensitivity. Turtle heart and liver mitochondria oxidize most substrates at 2- and 10-fold less, respectively, than rates obtained from the corresponding rat mitochondria. Krebs cycle intermediates, ketone bodies, and glutamate were oxidized at similarly high rates by turtle heart mitochondria (70.0-121.2 nmol O.min-1.mg protein-1). Fatty acylcarnitines were oxidized at approximately one-half of the above rates, and rates of amino acid oxidation were either not detectable or very low. Heart mitochondria oxidize ketone bodies at rates as high as pyruvate plus malate. Liver mitochondria oxidized Krebs cycle intermediates, amino acids, and fatty acids at similarly low rates (3.0-8.0 nmol O.min-1.mg protein-1). Typically, succinate was oxidized at the highest rates, 20.6 +/- 4.0 and 121.2 +/- 1.2 nmol O.min-1.mg protein-1, for liver and heart, respectively. Values for the rate of change of oxidation with a 10 degrees C increase (Q10) from heart and liver mitochondria oxidizing glutamate were calculated over the range 25-5 degrees C in 5 degrees C intervals; over the range 10-5 degrees C, Q10 values were 3.2 and 19.8, respectively. Q10 values calculated over the higher temperature intervals were lower. It is suggested that the large difference in temperature sensitivity between mitochondria from these two tissues and the ability of the heart mitochondria to oxidize ketone bodies at high rates are adaptations to recover from the long anoxic overwintering bouts experienced by this species.