The mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation involves five multimeric complexes imbedded in the inner membrane: complex I (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NADH) quinone oxidoreductase), II (succinate dehydrogenase), III (ubiquinol cytochromecoxido reductase orbc1complex), IV (cytochromecoxidase), and V (ATP synthase). These respiratory complexes are conserved from the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeto human with the exception of complex I, which is replaced by three NADH dehydrogenases inS. cerevisiae. Here, we provide several protocols allowing an exhaustive characterization of each yeast complex: this chapter describes procedures from mitochondria preparation to measurement of the activity of each complex and analysis of their subunit composition and provides information on the interactions between different complexes.
