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Related Concept Videos

Electron Transport Chain Components01:29

Electron Transport Chain Components

The electron transport chain (ETC) is a crucial metabolic pathway that facilitates energy conversion in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In eukaryotes, the ETC comprises four membrane-associated protein complexes in the inner mitochondrial membrane. In prokaryotes, the ETC in the plasma membrane can vary in composition, with fewer or different complexes depending on the organism and environmental conditions. These complexes transfer electrons from electron donors, such as NADH and FADH2, to...
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...
Electron Transport Chains01:28

Electron Transport Chains

The final stage of cellular respiration is oxidative phosphorylation that consists of two steps: the electron transport chain and chemiosmosis. The electron transport chain is a set of proteins found in the inner mitochondrial membrane in eukaryotic cells. Its primary function is to establish a proton gradient that can be used during chemiosmosis to produce ATP and generate electron carriers, such as NAD+ and FAD, that are used in glycolysis and the citric acid cycle.
The ETC is comprised of...
Oxidation and Reduction of Organic Molecules01:19

Oxidation and Reduction of Organic Molecules

Energy production within a cell involves many coordinated chemical pathways. Most of these pathways are combinations of oxidation and reduction reactions, which occur at the same time. An oxidation reaction strips an electron from an atom in a compound, and the addition of this electron to another compound is a reduction reaction. Because oxidation and reduction usually occur together, these pairs of reactions are called redox reactions.
The removal of an electron from a molecule, results in a...
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...
The Z-Scheme of Electron Transport in Photosynthesis01:34

The Z-Scheme of Electron Transport in Photosynthesis

The light reactions of photosynthesis assume a linear flow of electrons from water to NADP+. During this process, light energy drives the splitting of water molecules to produce oxygen. However, oxidation of water molecules is a thermodynamically unfavorable reaction and requires a strong oxidizing agent. This is accomplished by the first product of light reactions: oxidized P680 (or P680+), the most powerful oxidizing agent known in biology. The oxidized P680 that acquires an electron from the...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 16, 2026

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

Molecular basis for directional electron transfer.

Catarina M Paquete1, Ivo H Saraiva, Eduardo Calçada

  • 1Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Av. da República (EAN), 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry
|January 22, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Biological electron transfer relies on redox cofactor chains to bridge distances. This study reveals individual heme properties in cytochromes create functional specificity, ensuring directional electron flow.

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Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Biophysics
  • Bioenergetics

Background:

  • Biological electron transfer often involves chains of redox cofactors to bridge distances.
  • Electron tunneling decays exponentially with distance, necessitating efficient transfer mechanisms for metabolic activity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate intermolecular electron transfer in small tetraheme cytochromes using non-physiological redox partners.
  • To eliminate specific recognition and docking effects from measured electron transfer rates.
  • To analyze the kinetic contribution of individual hemes to the overall electron transfer rate.

Main Methods:

  • Kinetic experiments were performed with tetraheme cytochromes from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and Shewanella frigidimarina NCIMB400.
  • Non-physiological redox partners were used to isolate intrinsic electron transfer properties.
  • A kinetic model was employed, integrating extensive thermodynamic data of the proteins.

Main Results:

  • The study analyzed electron transfer across a 23 Å redox chain within the cytochrome.
  • Kinetic properties of individual hemes were found to establish functional specificity for each redox center.
  • This specificity, along with thermodynamic properties, ensures directional electron flow.

Conclusions:

  • Individual heme functional specificity is crucial for directional electron flow in biological electron transfer chains.
  • Soluble proteins with specific thermodynamic and kinetic properties can ensure directed electron transfer independently of respiratory chains.