A central tenet in mitochondrial bioenergetics is that exergonic electron transfer drives the creation of an electrical

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A Central Tenet In Mitochondrial Bioenergetics Is That Exergonic Electron Transfer Drives The Creation Of An Electrical 1 (54.17 KiB) Viewed 54 times

A central tenet in mitochondrial bioenergetics is that exergonic electron transfer drives the creation of an electrical potential (AY) across the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM). This is entirely true. Another tenet of mitochondrial bioenergetics, that you will read everywhere, is that this electrical potential is created by three proton pumps, Complexes I, III and IV. This is less true. A proton pump is this: It's a protein that binds a proton from one side of a membrane, translocates that very proton across the membrane, through the protein, and ejects it into solution on the other side of the membrane. Complex I is a proton pump, but we did not discuss complex I. Complex III is NOT a proton pump, yet it creates electrical potential across the IMM. It is an electron/proton charge separation device. Complex IV is both types of these devices. Fifty percent of the electrical potential that complex IV creates is as a proton pump. But, 50% of the electrical potential that complex IV creates is as an electron/proton charge separation device. Using a generalized terminology (i.c. neither CIII nor CIV specific), explain how a electron/proton charge separation device, ala CIII and CIV, generates AY.