Biochemistry

Eukaryotic cells heavily depend on adenosine triphosphate (ATP) generated by oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) within mitochondria. ATP is the major energy currency molecule, which fuels cell to carry out numerous processes, including growth, differentiation, transportation and cell death among others (Khakh and Burnstock, 2009). Therefore, ATP levels can serve as a metabolic gauge for cellular homeostasis and survival (Artal-Sanz and Tavernarakis, 2009; Gomes et al., 2011; Palikaras et al., 2015). In this protocol, we describe a method for the determination of intracellular ATP levels using a bioluminescence approach in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Glycolysis provides metabolites for energy production via oxidative phosphorylation during vegetative growth of Fusarium oxysporum. Therefore, determination of intracellular ATP levels might be of valuable help to analyze regulation of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathways. The protocol described here can be applied to other filamentous fungi.