Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The electron transport chain in anaerobically functioning eukaryotes

A G Tielens1, J J Van Hellemond

  • 1Laboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. tielens@biochem.dgk.ruu.nl

Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta
|August 7, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Lower eukaryotes survive anaerobic conditions using fumarate reduction, a process distinct from aerobic metabolism. This anaerobic pathway utilizes rhodoquinone, not ubiquinone, for electron transfer, highlighting specialized electron transport chains.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Cerebral toxoplasmosis in the twenty-first century.

AIDS (London, England)·2025
Same author

Baseline TGF-β correlates with protection after immunization with Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites in the controlled human malaria infection model.

Immunology letters·2023
Same author

Vermamoeba vermiformis resides in water-based heater-cooler units and can enhance Mycobacterium chimaera survival after chlorine exposure.

The Journal of hospital infection·2022
Same author

Acanthamoeba castellanii interferes with adequate chlorine disinfection of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The Journal of hospital infection·2020
Same author

Haemostatic changes in urogenital schistosomiasis haematobium: a case-control study in Gabonese schoolchildren.

Journal of helminthology·2019
Same author

Hypereosinophilia: a diagnostic challenge.

The Netherlands journal of medicine·2018

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Cellular Respiration
  • Eukaryotic Metabolism

Background:

  • Lower eukaryotes utilize fumarate reduction for anaerobic survival.
  • This process involves a specialized electron transport chain distinct from aerobic respiration.
  • Aerobic metabolism uses succinate oxidation via Complex II, while anaerobic metabolism uses fumarate reduction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the role of electron carriers in eukaryotic anaerobic fumarate reduction.
  • To compare the mechanisms of aerobic succinate oxidation and anaerobic fumarate reduction.
  • To investigate the differential expression of enzymes involved in these pathways in eukaryotes.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of electron transport chains in aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Investigation of quinone interactions (rhodoquinone vs. ubiquinone) with fumarate reductase.
  • Structural and functional comparison of fumarate reductase and succinate dehydrogenase.

    • Main Results:

    • Fumarate reduction in eukaryotes requires rhodoquinone, which has a lower redox potential than ubiquinone, enabling electron donation to fumarate.
    • Ubiquinone cannot substitute for rhodoquinone in fumarate reduction.
    • Eukaryotic fumarate reductases interact with rhodoquinone, while prokaryotic enzymes interact with naphthoquinones.
    • Fumarate reductase and succinate dehydrogenase are structurally similar but functionally distinct enzymes.

    Conclusions:

    • Eukaryotic anaerobic metabolism relies on a specific electron transport system involving rhodoquinone and fumarate reductase.
    • Differential expression of distinct succinate oxidation and fumarate reduction enzymes likely occurs in eukaryotes, similar to prokaryotes.