what would happen if the electron transport chain stopped working course hero

by Angeline Hamill III 10 min read

What can cause the electron transport chain to stop?

The electron transport chain can stop because it does not have a source of electrons, or it can stop because it can no longer pass electrons on. The first scenario would be caused by something like starvation. Without a source of glucose or other energy-rich molecules, cells would not be able to collect electrons on electron carriers.

What happens in the final step of the electron transport chain?

The final step of the electron transport chain is to remove the electrons with lower energy out of the system. This allows for new electrons to be added, part of the reason the process is called a chain. Cytochrome C is the complex which transfers the electrons to the final protein in the electron transport chain.

How many things are created during the electron transport chain?

During the course of the electron transport chain, only two things are really created. First, water is created as the electron transport chain deposits spent electrons into new water molecules. These water molecules can be reabsorbed by the body for use elsewhere or can be dispelled in the urine.

How does glycolysis work without an electron transport chain?

Without the electron transport chain, the cell still needs to recycle electron carriers. In the case of alcohol fermentation, the electron carriers dump their electrons in a reaction which creates ethanolas a final product. This allows glycolysis to continue producing ATP, allowing the cells to live through periods of low oxygen content.

What would happen if the electron transport chain stopped working?

If there were no oxygen present in the mitochondrion, the electrons could not be removed from the system, and the entire electron transport chain would back up and stop. The mitochondria would be unable to generate new ATP in this way, and the cell would ultimately die from lack of energy.

What poison did Jared gizmo have?

Cyanide caused Jared's symptoms because ETC stops working which makes O2 stop leaving, causing Jared's symptom of shortness of breath that he was feeling.

What would be the result if the thylakoid membrane was highly permeable to hydrogen ions?

If the thylakoid membrane was highly permeable to hydrogen ions, then the electron transfer chain would not be able to produce a hydrogen ion gradient across the membrane. Hydrogen ions would not flow through ATP synthase, and ATP synthesis would cease.

What happens to the concentration of H+ in the intermembrane space and the matrix as electrons move down the ETC gizmo?

What happens to the concentration of H+ in the intermembrane space and the matrix as electrons move down the ETC? The concentration of the intermembrane increases while the concentration of the matrix decreases.

How does cyanide cause muscle weakness dizziness and shortness of breath?

The mechanism of toxicity occurs because cyanide stops the cells of the body from being able to use oxygen, which all cells need to survive. The symptoms of cyanide poisoning are similar to those experienced when hiking or climbing at high altitudes, and include: General weakness.

What does cyanide do to the body?

Cyanide prevents the cells of the body from using oxygen. When this happens, the cells die. Cyanide is more harmful to the heart and brain than to other organs because the heart and brain use a lot of oxygen.

What happens in the electron transport chain in photosynthesis?

Electron transport helps establish a proton gradient that powers ATP production and also stores energy in the reduced coenzyme NADPH. This energy is used to power the Calvin Cycle to produce sugar and other carbohydrates.

Why is ATP synthesis in plants considered to be light dependent if ATP synthase can function in the dark?

Why is ATP synthesis in plants considered to be light dependent if ATP synthase can function in the dark? Chloroplasts generate aa proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane that is used to synthesize ATP, the process is called photophosphorylation.

Which organelle contains chlorophyll a pigment that absorbs light energy during photosynthesis?

chloroplastsIn plants, photosynthesis takes place in chloroplasts, which contain the chlorophyll. Chloroplasts are surrounded by a double membrane and contain a third inner membrane, called the thylakoid membrane, that forms long folds within the organelle.

What would happen to the concentrations of Intermembrane H+ If the ETC stopped working?

No electrons would be transported down the chain so no H+ would be moved and the concentration of H+ in the intermembrane space would decrease.

What causes the hydrogen ions in the intermembrane space to move through the channels in the membrane and out into the matrix?

During electron transport, energy is used to pump hydrogen ions across the mitochondrial inner membrane, from the matrix into the intermembrane space. A chemiosmotic gradient causes hydrogen ions to flow back across the mitochondrial membrane into the matrix, through ATP synthase, producing ATP.

What is the effect of increased levels of hydrogen ions in the intermembrane space of the mitochondria?

As described previously, the transfer of hydrogen ions into the intermembrane space creates a large concentration of positive charges and a large concentration of negative charges in the matrix, creating a large electrical potential across the inner membrane.

Why does the electron transport chain stop?

This can happen from two basic scenarios. The electron transport chain can stop because it does not have a source of electrons, or it can stop because it can no longer pass electrons on. The first scenario would be caused by something like starvation.

What is the function of the electron transport chain?

The basic function of the electron transport chain is to move protons into the intermembrane space. ATP synthase, which is not part of the process, is also located on the mitochondrial inner membrane. This complex will use the electrochemical gradient of the protons to essentially extract energy from the pressure of the protons wanting to cross ...

What happens to the electron carriers in alcohol fermentation?

In the case of alcohol fermentation, the electron carriers dump their electrons in a reaction which creates ethanol as a final product . This allows glycolysis to continue producing ATP, allowing the cells to live through periods of low oxygen content.

How are water molecules created in the electron transport chain?

First, water is created as the electron transport chain deposits spent electrons into new water molecules. These water molecules can be reabsorbed by the body for use elsewhere or can be dispelled in the urine.

How do electron carriers get their energy?

Electron carriers get their energy (and electrons) from reactions during glycolysis and the Krebs cycle. These reactions release energy from molecules like glucose by breaking the molecules in smaller pieces and storing the excess energy in the bonds of the recyclable electron carriers.

Which step in oxidative phosphorylation is the electron transport chain?

The electron transport chain is a crucial step in oxidative phosphorylation in which electrons are transferred from electron carriers, into the proteins of the electron transport chain which then deposit the electrons onto oxygen atoms and consequently transport protons across the mitochondrial membrane.

How do electrons stay in proteins?

The electrons from these bonds pass through complexes I and II, through coenzyme Q. This specialized protein functions solely in passing electrons from these complexes to complex III. Complex III serves as a hydrogen ion pump.

What is the electron transport chain?

The electron transport chain involves a series of redox reactions that relies on protein complexes to transfer electrons from a donor molecule to an acceptor molecule. As a result of these reactions, the proton gradient is produced, enabling mechanical work to be converted into chemical energy, allowing ATP synthesis.

How do electrons move in the electron transfer chain?

In the electron transfer chain, electrons move along a series of proteins to generate an expulsion type force to move hydrogen ions, or protons, across the mitochondrial membrane. The electrons begin their reactions in Complex I, continuing onto Complex II, traversed to Complex III and cytochrome c via coenzyme Q, and then finally to Complex IV. The complexes themselves are complex-structured proteins embedded in the phospholipid membrane. They are combined with a metal ion, such as iron, to help with proton expulsion into the intermembrane space as well as other functions. The complexes also undergo conformational changes to allow openings for the transmembrane movement of protons.

What is the name of the complex that the electrons are transferred to?

The cytochromes then extend into Complex IV, or cytochrome c oxidase. Electrons are transferred one at a time into the complex from cytochrome c. The electrons, in addition to hydrogen and oxygen, then react to form water in an irreversible reaction.

How many electrons does NADH have?

The NADH now has two electrons passing them onto a more mobile molecule, ubiquinone (Q), in the first protein complex (Complex I). Complex I, also known as NADH dehydrogenase, pumps four hydrogen ions from the matrix into the intermembrane space, establishing the proton gradient.

What is the mechanism that drives ATP synthesis?

Often, the use of a proton gradient is referred to as the chemiosmotic mechanism that drives ATP synthesis since it relies on a higher concentration of protons to generate “proton motive force”. The amount of ATP created is directly proportional to the number of protons that are pumped across the inner mitochondrial membrane. ...

What is the interaction between ubiquinol and cytochrome B?

There is an interaction between Q and cytochromes, which are molecules composed of iron, to continue the transfer of electrons. During the Q cycle, the ubiquinol (QH 2) previously produced donates electrons to ISP and cytochrome b becoming ubiquinone. ISP and cytochrome b are proteins that are located in the matrix that then transfers ...

Which protein transfers electrons to the last complex?

ISP and cytochrome b are proteins that are located in the matrix that then transfers the electron it received from ubiquinol to cytochrome c1. Cytochrome c1 then transfers it to cytochrome c, which moves the electrons to the last complex. (Note: Unlike ubiquinone (Q), cytochrome c can only carry one electron at a time).