The electron transport chain has two diffusible electron carriers, ubiquinone, which shuttles electrons to the third mitochondrial...

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Biology

The electron transport chain has two diffusible electroncarriers, ubiquinone, which shuttles electrons to the thirdmitochondrial complex, and cytochrome c, which shuttles electronsto the last mitochondrial complex (see figure below). Would it bepossible for cells to use only one of these two diffusible electroncarriers to shuttle electrons at each of these two steps of theelectron transport chain? Why or why not?

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An electron from NADH is first accepted by the protein complex NADHQ reductase also known as the NADH dehydrogenase complex This is the largest of the electron carriers consisting of more than 22 protein chains The NADHQ reductase complex accepts an electron from NADH and passes the electron to the next electron carrier ubiquinone which has a higher reduction potential Ubiquinone abbreviated as Q is an organic molecule not a protein dissolved in the hydrophobic region of the inner membrane of the mitochondrion It can move freely within the hydrophobic region of the membrane by diffusion Note that ubiquinone diffuses from one region of the membrane to another iewithin the walls of the membrane whereas polar molecules can diffuse from one side of the membrane to the other side ie across the membrane through channels Ubiquinone has a higher reduction potential than the NADHQ reductase Hence when See Answer

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