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Related Concept Videos

Electron Behavior00:54

Electron Behavior

Electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles that are attracted to an orbit around the positively-charged nucleus of an atom. They reside in locations that are associated with energy levels called shells and are further organized into sub-shells and orbitals within each shell.Electrons Orbit the NucleusElectrons are found in specific locations outside of the nucleus. The shell in which an electron resides indicates the general energy level of the electron: those closer to the nucleus...
Electron Behavior01:09

Electron Behavior

Electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles attracted to and orbit around the positively-charged nucleus of an atom. They reside in spaces associated with energy levels called shells and are further organized into subshells and orbitals within each shell.
Electrons Orbit the Nucleus
Electrons are found in specific locations outside of the nucleus. The shell in which an electron resides indicates the general energy level of the electron: those closer to the nucleus have less energy,...
Nitric Oxide Signaling Pathway01:28

Nitric Oxide Signaling Pathway

Nitric oxide (NO), an inorganic gas, acts as a potent second messenger in most animal and plant tissues. NO diffuses out of the cells that produce it and enters the neighboring cells to generate a downstream response. NO synthase (NOS) catalyzes NO production by the deamination of the amino acid arginine. There are three isoforms of NOS. Endothelial cells have endothelial NOS (eNOS), nerve and muscle cells have neuronal NOS (nNOS), and macrophages produce inducible NOS (iNOS) upon exposure to...
Nuclear Overhauser Enhancement (NOE)01:06

Nuclear Overhauser Enhancement (NOE)

Irradiation of a spin-active nucleus causes an increase or decrease in the signal intensity of neighboring nuclei that are not necessarily chemically bonded or involved in J-coupling. This phenomenon, called the nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE), results from through-space interactions between the nuclear spins. The NOE effect decreases with increasing internuclear distance and is generally not observed beyond 4 angstroms. In NOE, dipole-dipole interactions between neighboring spin-active...
Electron Carriers01:24

Electron Carriers

Electron carriers can be thought of as electron shuttles. These compounds can easily accept electrons (i.e., be reduced) or lose them (i.e., be oxidized). They play an essential role in energy production because cellular respiration is contingent on the flow of electrons.
Over the many stages of cellular respiration, glucose breaks down into carbon dioxide and water. Electron carriers pick up electrons lost by glucose in these reactions, temporarily storing and releasing them into the electron...
Metabolism of Chemolithotrophs01:15

Metabolism of Chemolithotrophs

Chemolithotrophs are microorganisms that obtain energy by oxidizing inorganic molecules such as hydrogen gas (H₂), ammonia (NH₃), reduced sulfur compounds (H₂S, S²⁻), and ferrous iron (Fe²⁺). Unlike heterotrophic organisms that rely on organic carbon, chemolithotrophs transfer electrons from these inorganic donors to the electron transport chain (ETC), generating a proton motive force (PMF) that drives ATP synthesis through oxidative phosphorylation. However, because inorganic electron donors...

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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Chemiluminescence-based Assays for Detection of Nitric Oxide and its Derivatives from Autoxidation and Nitrosated Compounds
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Chemiluminescence-based Assays for Detection of Nitric Oxide and its Derivatives from Autoxidation and Nitrosated Compounds

Published on: February 16, 2022

Was nitric oxide the first deep electron sink?

Anne-Lise Ducluzeau1, Robert van Lis, Simon Duval

  • 1Laboratoire de Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UPR9036, IFR77, Marseille Cedex 20, France.

Trends in Biochemical Sciences
|November 15, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Early life used nitric oxide (NO) and its derivatives as energy sources before oxygen was common. Aerobic respiration evolved later from this ancient NO-based pathway.

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Detection of Nitric Oxide and Superoxide Radical Anion by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy from Cells using Spin Traps
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Detection of Nitric Oxide and Superoxide Radical Anion by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy from Cells using Spin Traps

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Electrochemical Detection of Deuterium Kinetic Isotope Effect on Extracellular Electron Transport in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1
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Electrochemical Detection of Deuterium Kinetic Isotope Effect on Extracellular Electron Transport in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

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Chemiluminescence-based Assays for Detection of Nitric Oxide and its Derivatives from Autoxidation and Nitrosated Compounds
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Detection of Nitric Oxide and Superoxide Radical Anion by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy from Cells using Spin Traps
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Detection of Nitric Oxide and Superoxide Radical Anion by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy from Cells using Spin Traps

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Electrochemical Detection of Deuterium Kinetic Isotope Effect on Extracellular Electron Transport in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1
09:00

Electrochemical Detection of Deuterium Kinetic Isotope Effect on Extracellular Electron Transport in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

Published on: April 16, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Geochemistry

Background:

  • Chemiosmotic energy conversion is ancient, predating the divergence of Bacteria and Archaea.
  • Early Earth's atmosphere had minimal oxygen, necessitating alternative oxidizing substrates for life's energy needs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a novel hypothesis for the evolution of early bioenergetic pathways.
  • To identify the likely oxidizing substrates available to the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA).

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of evolutionary histories of enzymes in energy conversion pathways.
  • Integration of phylogenetic, enzymatic, and geochemical data.
  • Palaeogeochemical reconstruction of early Earth's atmospheric conditions.

Main Results:

  • Nitric oxide (NO) and its derivatives (nitrate, nitrite) are proposed as early oxidizing substrates.
  • These compounds likely fueled a bioenergetic pathway related to dissimilatory denitrification.
  • Aerobic respiration evolved from this ancestral pathway through NO reductase adaptation to dioxygen.

Conclusions:

  • Nitric oxide, not oxygen, was a key early substrate for bioenergetic evolution.
  • The evolution of aerobic respiration is linked to the adaptation of ancient denitrification pathways.
  • This provides a new perspective on the origin of energy metabolism in early life forms.