mitochondrial volume

[Robert Brambl]

In article <1993Sep21.161628.302 at gserv1.dl.ac.uk> ajt at uk.ac.sari.rri (Tony  
Travis) writes:
> rogersh at uk.ac.afrc wrote:
> : Subject: mitochondrial volume
> :  
> : I sent this  query to Biosci::methods & reagents  and got little  
response
> : so I thought I would broaden my search for a reply....
> 
> :   
> : The poser I have is:
> 
> :  How would one go about determining the mitochondrial volume in
> : tissue culture cells....unfortunately plant ones.
> :  
> : Is there a method(s) for doing this ?
> : Has any one done it ?
> 
>
Measuring mitochondrial volume in vivo can be tricky, since mitochondria  
may change shape, fuse, shrink, or swell, depending upon physiological  
conditions.  Nevertheless, if you can hold all these things constant, I  
would suggest using potentiometric cyanine dyes for the mitochondria.   
These work beautifully in plant cells.  See Plant Physiol. (1987)  
84:1385-1390. You could photograph the fluorescent mitochondria, enlarge  
the prints suitably, and use area measurements to *estimate* mitochondrial  
volume.

Hope this helps.