TY - JOUR T1 - Is mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production proportional to oxygen consumption? A theoretical consideration A1 - Hou,Chen A1 - Metcalfe,Neil B. A1 - Salin,Karine AD - Department of Biological Sciences Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla Missouri, USA AD - Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine Graham Kerr Building University of Glasgow Glasgow , UK AD - Department of Environment and Resources Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer Plouzané, France UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202000165 DO - 10.1002/bies.202000165 KW - mitochondria KW - respiration states KW - theoretical model KW -   KW - uncoupling KW - variation N2 - It has been assumed that at the whole organismal level, the mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is proportional to the oxygen consumption. Recently, a number of researchers have challenged this assumption, based on the observation that the ROS production per unit oxygen consumed in the resting state of mitochondrial respiration is much higher than that in the active state. Here, we develop a simple model to investigate the validity of the assumption and the challenge of it. The model highlights the significance of the time budget that mitochondria operate in the different respiration states. The model suggests that under three physiologically possible conditions, the difference in ROS production per unit oxygen consumed between the respiration states does not upset the proportionality between the whole animal ROS production and oxygen consumption. The model also shows that mitochondrial uncoupling generally enhances the proportionality. Y1 - 2021/04 PB - Wiley JF - Bioessays SN - 0265-9247 VL - 43 IS - 4 ID - 79188 ER -