Lipoic acid-dependent pathways of ␣-keto acid oxidation by mitochondria were investigated in pea (Pisum sativum), rice (Oryza sativa), and Arabidopsis. Proteins containing covalently bound lipoic acid were identified on isoelectric focusing/ sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separations of mitochondrial proteins by the use of antibodies raised to this cofactor. All these proteins were identified by tandem mass spectrometry. Lipoic acid-containing acyltransferases from pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and ␣-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex were identified from all three species. In addition, acyltransferases from the branched-chain dehydrogenase complex were identified in both Arabidopsis and rice mitochondria. The substrate-dependent reduction of NAD ϩ was analyzed by spectrophotometry using specific ␣-keto acids. Pyruvate-and ␣-ketoglutarate-dependent reactions were measured in all three species. Activity of the branched-chain dehydrogenase complex was only measurable in Arabidopsis mitochondria using substrates that represented the ␣-keto acids derived by deamination of branched-chain amino acids (Val [valine], leucine, and isoleucine). The rate of branched-chain amino acid-and ␣-keto acid-dependent oxygen consumption by intact Arabidopsis mitochondria was highest with Val and the Val-derived ␣-keto acid, ␣-ketoisovaleric acid. Sequencing of peptides derived from trypsination of Arabidopsis mitochondrial proteins revealed the presence of many of the enzymes required for the oxidation of all three branched-chain amino acids. The potential role of branched-chain amino acid catabolism as an oxidative phosphorylation energy source or as a detoxification pathway during plant stress is discussed.The enzymatic decarboxylation of ␣-keto organic acids in cells is often facilitated by the cofactor thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), which acts as a strong nucleophile to attack the carbonyl carbon of ␣-keto acids. The remaining aldehyde can be simply protonated; for example, during acetaldehyde formation by pyruvate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.1) or, alternatively, the energy released by the decarboxylation can be coupled to the generation of NADH. The ␣-keto acid decarboxylating dehydrogenase complexes encapsulate this alternative reaction series. These complex structures use E1 (␣-keto acid dehydrogenase), E2 (acyltransferase), and E3 (lipoamide dehydrogenase) enzymes and five cofactors (TPP, CoA, lipoic acid, FAD ϩ , and NAD ϩ ) in their catalytic cycle (Reed, 1974;Mooney et al., 2002). Active-site coupling is used to catalyze decarboxylation of ␣-keto acids (E1 enzyme), esterification of aldehydes to CoA (E2 enzyme), and reduction of NAD ϩ to NADH (E3 enzyme; Reed, 1981;Perham et al., 2002). The most widely studied ␣-keto acid enzyme complexes are the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) that regulates the entry of carbon into the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle by the provision of acetyl-CoA and the ␣-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDC) that acts within the TCA cycle to synthesize succinylCoA. B...