Animals have mitochondial where oxidative phosphorylation can occur but what happens in bacteria; how do they carry out this process?
Bacteria use various flavins, cytochrome, and non-heme iron components as well as multiple cytochrome oxidases for this process.
The cytoplasmic membrane is the site of oxidative phosphorylation in bacteria.
By the way, it is believed that mitochondria (and chloroplasts) are descended from bacteria that became endosymbionts long ago.
In Animals they use mitochondria for oxidative phosphorylation.
But in bacteria they lack specialized structures like mitochondria so they uses their cell membrane for the purpose of oxidative phosphorylation and it involves iron as a major component for electron transport. It also uses various type of flavins and some how chytochrome that contains cytochrome oxidase for oxidation purpose.
The main difference between eukaryotic and prokaryotic oxidative phosphorylation is that bacteria and archaea use many different substances to donate or accept electrons. This allows prokaryotes to grow under a wide variety of environmental conditions. In E. coli, for example, oxidative phosphorylation can be driven by a large number of pairs of reducing agents and oxidizing agents. The midpoint potential of a chemical measures how much energy is released when it is oxidized or reduced, with reducing agents having negative potentials and oxidizing agents positive potentials.
Respiratory enzyme Redox pair
Formate dehydrogenase Bicarbonate / Formate
Hydrogenase Proton / Hydrogen
NADH dehydrogenase NAD+ / NADH
Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase DHAP / Gly-3-P
Pyruvate oxidase Acetate + Carbon dioxide / Pyruvate
Lactate dehydrogenase Pyruvate / Lactate
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