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Q.(a) Explain the reactions taking place in mitochondrial inner membrane. OR

(b) What are the physiological effects of Cytokinins?
Tamil Nadu DgeTamil Nadu HSC First Year (DGE) Board 2026Subjective· 5mImportance★★★★★
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The inner mitochondrial membrane houses the electron transport chain, which uses electrons from NADH/FADH2 to pump protons and drive ATP synthesis (oxidative phosphorylation), with oxygen as the final electron acceptor.

The reactions occurring specifically on/within the inner mitochondrial membrane represent the final and most ATP-productive stage of aerobic respiration:

  1. Electron delivery: the NADH and FADH2 molecules generated during glycolysis (in the cytoplasm, its NADH shuttled in), pyruvate oxidation, and the Krebs cycle (both occurring in the mitochondrial matrix) donate their high-energy electrons to a series of membrane-embedded protein complexes (Complex I, II, III, and IV) that make up the electron transport chain (ETC), arranged in the inner mitochondrial membrane.
  2. Electron transport and proton pumping: as electrons pass sequentially through these complexes (via mobile carriers like ubiquinone and cytochrome c), they release energy in stages. Complexes I, III, and IV use this released energy to actively pump protons (H+) from the mitochondrial matrix into the intermembrane space, against their concentration gradient.
  3. Formation of the proton gradient (chemiosmotic gradient): this pumping builds up a higher H+ concentration in the intermembrane space than in the matrix, creating an electrochemical (proton-motive) gradient across the inner membrane.
  4. ATP synthesis (chemiosmosis): protons flow back down this gradient into the matrix through a special channel-enzyme, ATP synthase (Complex V), also embedded in the inner membrane. The energy released by this controlled flow drives ATP synthase to phosphorylate ADP into ATP — this coupling of electron transport to ATP production is called oxidative phosphorylation. …

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