11.2.5. "Switching Off" Mitochondrial AOX at Night

The AOX pathway continues to remain operative at night, accounting for 10–50% of the total respiratory rate, resulting in a reduced ATP yield per unit of carbon oxidized [128]. Among the different isoforms of AOX identified so far, one is constitutive, whereas the rest are stress inducible [129]. Engineering the constitutive AOX with a light-specific promoter can lower the alternative pathway rate at night and raise it again during the day without compromising the carbon loss [32].
