3. Given that the ETC is a product of evolutionary refinement, what conclusions
ID: 190720 • Letter: 3
Question
3. Given that the ETC is a product of evolutionary refinement, what conclusions might you make if an experiment reduced or increased the number of electron carrier proteins found in the chain (assume that they would still be able to pass electrons down the chain) 1. Cyanide is a fatal organic molecule to most eukaryotic cells. Cyanide binds to the Complex of the ETC. What do you think this binding does to the complex and how do you think this binding makes cyanide fatal? 2. A patient in a hospital was admitted for low energy. Further testing showed that the patient was able to catabolize fats and proteins but not carbohydrates and had large amounts of lactic acid in his cells. Researchers found that the patient's mitochondria appear to be the origin of the problem. Can you speculate how mitochondrion could be involved? Be specific. 3. We've seen that most of the macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins) can be oxidized in cellular respiration. Why do you think nucleic acids are not oxidized extensively as an energy source in the respiration metabolic pathway?Explanation / Answer
Answer: 1. Cyanide is proven to be fatal while it goes and binds inside the mitochondria, to the ETC. This chemical compound is considered as toxic, as its function involves binding the fourth complex of the ETC. The tight binding pattern changes the ETC pathway, electrons no longer passes through the Complex IV to the final electron acceptor, oxygen. This causes a complete blockage, energy is no longer moving through even the ATPase, ATP production is stopped. Because, protons are blocked to transport into the mitochondrial matrix, protons are building up outside, gradient increases. This interlinking dependency cause failure in the system, no chemical energy is formed.
2. Lactic acidosisis one of such causes where mitochondria are either defective neonatal or either the medical condition like hypoxia would causes. Mitochondria in any of these cases are unable to draw oxygen and make any ATP. In this case, cells are forced to use more and more glucose breakdown through glycolysis for ATP production. The same things also occur in anaerobic respiration partially. While active glycolysis can compensate for the loss of ATP, cells also starts to produce hydrogen cations to balance the anionic form of pyruvate (lactic acid).
3. As we know generally DNA is energy deficient, they are not metabolized, while RNA is. RNA can be pushed down to simple sugars and nitrogen bases, sugars go down through glycolysis. The pyrimidines part of RNA goes to the krebs cycle and the purine goes through the urea cycle. Cells have do not possess the necessary enzymes to break down the nucleic acid families, all of them. Some are digested, but largely they are undone.
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