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Mitochondrial matrix

 

 
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Mitochondrial matrix
 
 
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In the mitochondrion
Mitochondrion

In cell biology, a mitochondrion is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryote cell . These organelles range from 0.5–10 micrometers in diameter....
, the matrix contains soluble enzyme
Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
s that catalyze
Catalysis

Catalysis is the process in which the reaction rate of a chemical reaction is either increased or decreased by means of a chemical substance known as a catalyst....
 the oxidation of pyruvate
Pyruvic acid

Pyruvic acid is an organic acid. It is also a ketone. It is the simplest keto acids. The carboxylate ion of pyruvic acid is known as pyruvate....
 and other small organic molecules.

The mitochondrial matrix also contains the mitochondria's DNA
DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
 and ribosomes. The word "matrix" stems from the fact that this space is viscous, compared to the relatively aqueous cytoplasm.






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Mitochondrie
In the mitochondrion
Mitochondrion

In cell biology, a mitochondrion is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryote cell . These organelles range from 0.5–10 micrometers in diameter....
, the matrix contains soluble enzyme
Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
s that catalyze
Catalysis

Catalysis is the process in which the reaction rate of a chemical reaction is either increased or decreased by means of a chemical substance known as a catalyst....
 the oxidation of pyruvate
Pyruvic acid

Pyruvic acid is an organic acid. It is also a ketone. It is the simplest keto acids. The carboxylate ion of pyruvic acid is known as pyruvate....
 and other small organic molecules.

The mitochondrial matrix also contains the mitochondria's DNA
DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
 and ribosomes. The word "matrix" stems from the fact that this space is viscous, compared to the relatively aqueous cytoplasm. The cytosolic compartment has a water content of 3.8 µl/mg protein, while the mitochondrial matrix 0.8 µl/mg protein (Soboll S et al, in "Use of Isolated Liver Cells and Kidney Tubules in Metabolic Studies" pg 29-40, Academic Press, New York and London). It is not known how mitochondria maintain osmotic
Osmosis

Osmosis is the diffusion of a solvent through a Semipermeable membrane, from a solution of low solute concentration to a solution with high solute concentration , up a solute concentration gradient....
 balance across the inner mitochondrial membrane, although the membrane contains aquaporin
Aquaporin

Aquaporins are proteins embedded in the cell membrane that regulate the flow of water. They are "the plumbing system for cells."Aquaporins are integral membrane proteins from a larger protein family of major intrinsic proteins that form pores in the cell membrane of cell s....
s that are believed to be conduits for regulated water transport.

Citric acid cycle


The citric acid cycle
Citric acid cycle

The citric acid cycle ? also known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle ; the Krebs cycle; or, more rarely, the Szent-Gy?rgyi-Krebs cycle) ? is a series of enzyme-catalysed chemical reactions of central importance in all living cell s that use oxygen as part of cellular respiration....
 (or Krebs cycle or TCA cycle) takes place within the mitochondrial matrix. In this cycle, pyruvic acid
Pyruvic acid

Pyruvic acid is an organic acid. It is also a ketone. It is the simplest keto acids. The carboxylate ion of pyruvic acid is known as pyruvate....
 generated from glycolysis
Glycolysis

Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose, C6H12O6, into pyruvate, C3H5O3-....
 is converted into acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl CoA) by losing a carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalent bond to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state....
 molecule. It then combines with oxaloacetic acid
Oxaloacetic acid

Oxaloacetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula HO2CCCH2CO2H. It also has other names and its conjugate base is called "oxaloacetate." This four-carbon dicarboxylic acid is a protonated variant of oxaloacetate, which is an intermediate of the citric acid cycle and gluconeogenesis....
 to form citric acid, a six-carbon molecule. In total, it loses 2 CO2 molecules and 4 electron
Electron

The electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge. It has elementary particle and is believed to be a point particle....
s, of which 3 are accepted by NAD+ to reduce it to NADH, and the last electron accepted by FAD+ to reduce to FADH2 in redox
Redox

Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number changed.This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane , or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body through a ser...
 reaction
Reaction

Reaction may refer to:*Response to another event*Adverse drug reaction*Chemical reaction*Light reaction*Nuclear reaction*Reaction , as defined by Newton's third law...
s. In the end, it regenerates oxaloacetic acid to continue the citric acid cycle. In addition, a single GTP molecule is created from the combination of GDP and a phosphate group.

Since 2 pyruvic acid molecules are formed by glycolysis, each time a cell undergoes glycolysis two turns of the citric acid cycle will occur. That means that the citric acid cycle produces a total of 6 NADH, 2 FADH2, and 2 GTP molecules.

Electron transport chain


The electron transport chain
Electron transport chain

An electron transport chain couples a chemical reaction between an electron donor and an electron acceptor to the transfer of proton across a Cell membrane, through a set of mediating biochemical reactions....
 is located in the cristae of the inner mitochondrial membrane. The NADH and FADH2 produced by the citric acid cycle in the matrix release a proton and electron to regenerate NAD+ and FAD+. The proton is pulled into the intermembrane space
Intermembrane space

The intermembrane space is the region between the inner membrane and the outer membrane of a mitochondrion or a chloroplast. The main function of the intermembrane space is oxidative phosphorylation....
 by the energy of the electrons going through the electron transport chain. The electron is finally accepted by oxygen in the matrix. The protons return to the mitochondrial matrix through the process of chemiosmosis
Chemiosmosis

Chemiosmosis is the diffusion of ions across a selectively-permeable membrane. More specifically, it relates to the generation of Adenosine triphosphate by the movement of hydrogen ions across a inner membrane during cellular respiration....
 through the protein
Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
 ATP synthase
ATP synthase

An ATP synthase is a general term for an enzyme that can synthesize adenosine triphosphate from adenosine diphosphate and inorganic phosphate by using some form of energy....
.

See also

  • Matrix (biology)
    Matrix (biology)

    In biology, matrix is the material between animal or plant cell , the material in which more specialized structures are embedded, and a specific part of the mitochondrion that is the site of oxidation of organic molecules....