Spatial patterning of mitochondrial metabolism in mouse oocytes

Metabolism provides a continuous flux of energy that keeps living systems out of equilibrium and gives rise to biological form and function. Energy production is patterned across space and time within cells via the organization of mitochondria and spatial distributions in mitochondrial activity. In mouse oocytes, there exists a gradient in metabolic activity with distance from the meiotic spindle. The physical mechanism that gives rise to this emergent pattern is unknown. I am using quantitative microscopy, molecular perturbations, and biophysical modeling to decipher the mechanism behind the formation of subcellular spatial patterns of mitochondrial metabolism in mouse oocytes. Understanding these mechanisms will not only teach us quantitative cell biological principles that underlie the patterning of energy metabolism but will also reveal the physics of how energy fluxes influence the collective behavior of living active matter.