Talk:Gnaiger 2019 MitoFit Preprints

» MitoEAGLE preprint 2018-02-08

Phase 3: MitoEAGLE preprint 2018-02-08

• 2018-02-08 Gnaiger E Version 22. Change of title: Mitochondrial respiratory states and rates: Building blocks of mitochondrial physiology. Part 1.

Dear co-authors and MitoEAGLE Network Members:

Our MitoEAGLE position statement originally entitled 'The protonmotive force and respiratory control' has been discussed in many meetings and working groups. Many opinions and concerns have been raised about: (1) the exploding length; (2) the heterogeneity from respiratory states, to protonmotive force, to normalization of respiratory flow and flux; (3) the complex thermodynamic treatment in Section 3 of compartmental systems, power and entropy production, exergy, forces, electric and chemial advancement, fluxes, molecular-molar-electrical formats, and motive units; and (4) corresponding concerns about the meaning of co-authorship, if an entire section of the manuscript remains a challenge rather than becoming a familiar piece of collaborative work for most participants.

In the attempt to give a more detailed introduction and provide clarification of some basic principles related to the protonmotive force, I tried to stick to the conventional presentations of electric potential differences, ΔΨ, and chemical potential differnces, Δμ_H+, up to the point of recognizing a physicochemical incompleteness in the formal representation of potential differences. I am highly motivated to share a very simple but fundamental solution of this generally unrecognized problem with you, and want to talk about this at EBEC2018. The physicochemical formalism of potential differences is incomplete and terminologically inconsistent. The protonmotive force is not an electrochemical potential difference, but a difference of 'stoichiometric potentials'. A generalized concept of 'isomorphic forces' is suggested to describe the incomplete although mathematically correct equation defining the protonmotive force more properly. Since this discussion appears to be presently beyond the scope of a MitoEAGLE position statement, Section 3 (The protonmotive force, proton flux, and respiratory control) was removed from the new Version 22, the manuscript was updated (see improved Figure 8; extended Table 5), and the title was changed to 'Mitochondrial respiratory states and rates'.

Many co-authors asked about the state of submission and possibilities to further contribute and improve our MitoEAGLE position statement. In this phase 3 towards journal submission, we are asking you and a wider range of experts in the field for input preferentially with corresponding references. This should allow us without too much further delay (Feb 20) to incorporate your feedback and contact relevant journal editors for their opinion on implementing our recommendations into their journal policy. We want to proceed with submission to a preprint server and final journal submission. BBA was discussed at MiP2017 as a potentially suitable journal, and we are open for further suggestions.

With many thanks for your collaboration, Erich

• 2018-02-06 Gnaiger E Version 21: Note: Subscript ‘§’ indicates throughout the text those parts, where potential differences provide a mathematically correct but physicochemically incomplete description and should be replaced by stoichiometric potential differences (Gnaiger 1993b). A unified concept on vectorial motive transformations and scalar chemical reactions will be derived elsewhere (Gnaiger, in prep.). Appreciation of the fundamental distinction between differences of potential versus differences of stoichiometric potential may be considered a key to critically evaluate the arguments presented in Section 3 on the protonmotive force. Since this discussion appears to be presently beyond the scope of a MitoEAGLE position statement, Section 3 will be removed from the next version and final manuscript. This section should become a topic of discussion within Working Group 1 of the MitoEAGLE consortium, following a primary peer-reviewed publication of the concept of stoichiometric potential differences.