Monday, November 3, 2008

Q: Describe the role of NAD in aerobic respiration

NAD is a coenzyme and an electron carrier, it acts as an electron acceptor in glycolysis and Krebs cycle through dehydrogenation processes and is then reduced to NADH. WHen it is reduced to NADH, it is utilized as an electron donor during oxidative phosphorylation. Electrons are transferred from NADH and FADH2 to oxygen by the electron transport chain via a series of redox reactions. The electrons are gradually passed down to lower and lower energy levels. The energy is used to generate a proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane. This stores potential energy that can be used to phosphorylate ADP to ATP during chemiosmosis.

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