In Vivo Tissue-wide Synchronization of Mitochondrial Metabolic Oscillations

• In live animals, mitochondria undergo rapid and constitutive metabolic oscillations
• Mitochondria self-organize and are functionally linked in supracellular networks
• Gap junctions control the coordination of mitochondrial activity across the tissue

SummaryLittle is known about the spatiotemporal coordination of mitochondrial metabolism in multicellular organisms in situ. Using intravital microscopy in live animals, we report that mitochondrial metabolism undergoes rapid and periodic oscillations under basal conditions. Notably, mitochondria in vivo behave as a network of functionally coupled oscillators, which maintain a high level of coordination throughout the tissue via the activity of gap junctions. These findings reveal a unique aspect of the relationship between tissue architecture and self-organization of mitochondrial metabolism in vivo.

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