Flyer/Percher Dichotomy is Evident from Flight Muscle Mitochondrial Energetics

Dragonflies are prolific flyers; some species are known to fly a majority of time while other species spend significant amounts of time resting perched on objects. We sought to determine flight muscle mitochondrial energetics in dragonflies characterized as either flyers or perchers. We hypothesized that flyers, with their constant energy demands, would exhibit higher mitochondrial respiration than perchers that spend more time resting. We collected 16 perchers and 10 flyers in Provo, UT and Saint George, UT. Small bundles of flight muscle were permeabilized and subjected to a standard protocol in an Oroboros Oxygraph-2K to measure LEAK respiration with glutamate (G), malate (M) and succinate (S). Maximal coupled respiration was then evaluated with the addition of ADP (GMS P ) and FCCP (GMS E ) was subsequently added to determine maximal uncoupled mitochondrial respiration. GM LEAK was 130% higher in flyers than perchers while GMS LEAK was 108% higher in flyers. GMS P was 96% higher in flyers and GMS E was 77% higher in flyers compared to perchers. Using the respiratory control ratios of these values, we established the efficiency of flight muscle respiration in flyers and perchers. The 1-GM/GMS P ratio was 15% lower in flyers and the 1-GM/GMS E ratio was 18% lower in flyers. Ratios of 1-GMS/GMS P and 1-GMS/GMS E were both elevated in the perchers but not significantly different from flyers. Lastly, 1-GMSP/GMSE was no different between groups. Overall, our findings indicate flyers had elevated mitochondrial respiration compared to perchers. However, based on the respiratory control ratios using GM LEAK respiration, perchers were more efficient. College of Life Sciences, Brigham Young University This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2025 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.