NASA has sent a series of Mars rovers to that planet since the late 1990s to loo

Question

NASA has sent a series of Mars rovers to that planet since the late 1990s to look for signs of life. Consider the following hypothetical situation: A fungal organism capable of undergoing both fermentation and oxidative phosphorylation hitched a ride from Earth to Mars on one of the rovers. Since the organism is able to use fermentation to regenerate NAD+, it can live and reproduce in conditions of low atmospheric oxygen on Mars, but this process is slow because fermentation is not very efficient. Suddenly, a fungal population is found to be growing at a much faster rate because it has evolved to utilize an alternative acceptor at the end of the electron transport chain. Which of these elements would be the most likely candidate to act as an alternative electron acceptor in oxidative phosphorylation? (HINT: look at a periodic table.) 1) aluminum (Al) 2) rubidium (Rb) 3) None, only oxygen can be oxidized 4) polonium (Po) 5 silicon (Si)

Explanation / Answer

Polonium (Po) is the most likely candidate to act as an alternative electron acceptor in oxidative phosphorylation

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse N
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.