Electron Flow in Organotrophy, Lithotrophy, and Phototrophy

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms related to electron flow in organotrophy, lithotrophy, and phototrophy, crucial for understanding metabolic processes in microbiology.

Organotrophy

Metabolism that uses reduced carbon molecules as electron donors.

Anaerobic Respiration

Metabolism that uses an electron acceptor other than oxygen.

Oxidoreductases

Enzymes that facilitate electron transfer in redox reactions.

Electrogenic Biofilms

Biofilms that allow bacteria to deposit electrons outside of their cells.

Terminal Electron Acceptor

The final electron acceptor in a metabolic pathway, often oxygen in aerobic respiration.

Lithotrophy

A form of metabolism that relies on inorganic electron donors.

Phototrophy

Metabolism that captures light energy to fuel the generation of ATP.

NADPH

A reduced form of NADP+ used in biosynthesis.

Proteorhodopsin

A light-absorbing protein that helps bacteria generate energy from light.

Photochemical Processes

Reactions that involve capturing light energy and converting it into chemical energy.

Cyanobacteria

Bacteria that perform oxygenic photosynthesis and contain chlorophyll.

Electron Transport System (ETS)

A series of protein complexes that transfer electrons through membranes, generating a proton motive force.

PMF (Proton Motive Force)

The electrochemical gradient generated by protons across a membrane, used to produce ATP.

Photosystems (PS)

Protein complexes that use light energy to fuel the electron transport chain.

Cyclic Phototrophy

A metabolic pathway that recycles electrons within the electron transport system using light.

Photosynthesis

The process of converting light energy into chemical energy in the form of glucose.

Thylakoids

Membrane structures found in cyanobacteria that host the photosynthetic machinery.

Heterotrophy

The metabolic mode of organisms that obtain energy by consuming other organic compounds.

Auto-trophy

The metabolic mode of organisms that fix carbon dioxide to produce organic compounds.

Chemolithoautotroph

Bacteria that obtain energy from inorganic compounds to fix their own carbon.

Photoorganoheterotroph

Bacteria that obtain energy from light while acquiring electrons and carbon from organic compounds.

Anoxygenic Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis that does not produce oxygen, typically using hydrogen sulfide as an electron donor.

Oxygenic Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis that produces oxygen using water as an electron donor.