The Significance of the Incorporation of [14C] Leucine into Different Protein Fractions by Isolated Ox Heart Mitochondria

The problem of whether isolated mitochondria are able to synthesize specific proteins was investigated, particular consideration being paid to the possible contribution of micro-organisms to this activity. With ox heart mitochondria it was shown that: (1) The medium used for the incubations inhibits the exponential phase of bacterial growth for at least 8h either in the absence or the presence of fresh mitochondria, but the inhibition disappears after 4h when mitochondria damaged by freezing and thawing are used. (2) The incorporation of [(14)C]leucine into total proteins is linear up to at least 8h, although part of the radioactivity at the later periods might be due to some incorporation by resting-phase bacteria. (3) A contamination by as little as 800 cells/mg of mitochondrial protein is enough to contribute substantially to the total radioactivity incorporated by the mitochondrial preparations. (4) Purified cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase are labelled even under conditions of minimal contamination by micro-organisms (less than 60 cells/mg of mitochondrial protein) and the contribution of bacterial proteins to the radioactivity found in cytochromes is negligible, as shown by double-labelling experiments. (5) At 4h the specific radioactivities of cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase are seven- and 16-fold lower respectively than that of a structural protein-rich fraction, suggesting that the labelling of cytochromes is due to a residual contamination by these proteins.