Lecture 35. Oxidative phosphorylation
Wednesday 7 December 2016
Coupling of electron transport chain to ATP synthesis. The chemiosmotic hypothesis.
Reading: VVP4e - Ch.18, pp.603-607.
Summary
Oxidative phosphorylation is the fundamental energy-yielding process underlying aerobic metabolism. Electrons derived from the catabolic reactions of the citric acid cycle (in the form of NADH or FADH2) are transferred to via a series of steps known as the electron transport chain (ETC). This intricate series of transfers that take place in eukaryotic cells at the inner membrane of mitochondria is an energy-releasing process. The energy of electron transfer is transduced into a transmembrane electrochemical gradient, which in turn provides the potential energy for the conversion of ADP and inorganic phosphate into ATP by ATP synthase.