What is the electron transport chain summary?
The electron transport chain is a cluster of proteins that transfer electrons through a membrane within mitochondria to form a gradient of protons that drives the creation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is used by the cell as the energy for metabolic processes for cellular functions.
What are the main steps in the electron transport chain?
The three main steps in the electron transport chain are:
- Generation of a proton gradient across the mitochondrial membrane. Proton accumulation occurs in the intermembrane space of mitochondria.
- Reduction of molecular oxygen and formation of water.
- ATP synthesis by chemiosmosis.
What is the main function of electron transport chain?
The electron transport chain is primarily used to send protons across the membrane into the intermembrane space. This create a proton-motive force, which will drive ATP synthase in the final step of cellular respiration to create ATP from ADP and a phosphate group.
What is electron transport chain for kids?
An electron transport chain (ETC) is how a cell gets energy from sunlight in photosynthesis. Electron transport chains also occur in reduction/oxidation (“redox”) reactions, such as the oxidation of sugars in cellular respiration.
What is the meaning of electron transport?
Definition of electron transport : the sequential transfer of electrons especially by cytochromes in cellular respiration from an oxidizable substrate to molecular oxygen by a series of oxidation-reduction reactions.
Why is the electron transport chain important?
The ETC is the most important stage of cellular respiration from an energy point of view because it produces the most ATP. When a cell needs energy, it breaks the third phosphate group bond and uses the resulting energy.
Where does electron transport chain occur?
The electron transport chain is a series of four protein complexes that couple redox reactions, creating an electrochemical gradient that leads to the creation of ATP in a complete system named oxidative phosphorylation. It occurs in mitochondria in both cellular respiration and photosynthesis.
Where does electron transport occur?
The electron transport chain activity takes place in the inner membrane and the space between the inner and outer membrane, called the intermembrane space.
What molecules are required by the electron transport chain?
The electron transport chain is a series of electron transporters embedded in the inner mitochondrial membrane that shuttles electrons from NADH and FADH2 to molecular oxygen. In the process, protons are pumped from the mitochondrial matrix to the intermembrane space, and oxygen is reduced to form water.
Does electron transport chain produce carbon dioxide?
ATP (or, in some cases, GTP), NADH, and FADH_2 are made, and carbon dioxide is released. The NADH and FADH_2 produced in other steps deposit their electrons in the electron transport chain in the inner mitochondrial membrane.