Question

Plants also perform oxidative phosphorylation.
A. True
B. False

Answer 1

Yes, plants perform oxidative phosphorylation as part of cellular respiration in their mitochondria to produce ATP. This process uses the glucose generated from photosynthesis and requires oxygen as the final electron acceptor. Thus, plants are involved in both photosynthesis and respiration, an essential aspect of their metabolic activities.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question of whether plants perform oxidative phosphorylation is true. Just like animals, plants carry out cellular respiration which includes oxidative phosphorylation. This process occurs in the mitochondria of both plant and animal cells and is critical for ATP production.

Oxygen and glucose are fundamental to this process. Plants produce glucose via photosynthesis, where they convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and release oxygen as a byproduct. This glucose is then used as the starting material for cellular respiration, which occurs in four stages: glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, electron transport chain, and oxidative phosphorylation.

In the final step, oxidative phosphorylation, ATP is generated through chemiosmosis in the mitochondria. It involves the establishment of a proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane, which then drives the synthesis of ATP via ATP synthase as protons flow back into the mitochondrial matrix. This step requires oxygen as the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain.

Plants need cellular respiration to break down the sugar they produce through photosynthesis into usable energy. Even though plants are typically associated with photosynthesis, the ATP produced by cellular respiration is crucial for various cellular functions such as active transport, biosynthesis, and cell division. In summary, the presence of both chloroplasts (for photosynthesis) and mitochondria (for cellular respiration) in plant cells allows them to engage in photosynthesis to harvest energy from light, and also in cellular respiration to generate ATP from the sugars they produce.

Answer 2

The statement that plants perform oxidative phosphorylation is true. They use glucose and oxygen from photosynthesis in their mitochondria to generate ATP, primarily through oxidative phosphorylation linked to the electron transport chain and ATP synthase.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that plants also perform oxidative phosphorylation is indeed true. Plants, like all organisms that undergo aerobic respiration, use glucose derived from photosynthesis and oxygen to produce ATP through the process of oxidative phosphorylation. This occurs in the mitochondria of plant cells, where glucose is broken down during the citric acid cycle (also known as the Krebs cycle), and the high energy electrons generated are used in the electron transport chain to create a proton gradient. The flow of protons back into the mitochondrial matrix through ATP synthase generates ATP.

It is worth mentioning that while photosynthesis is unique to plants and some other autotrophs, cellular respiration, including glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, is a universal process among eukaryotic organisms. Additionally, while oxygen and glucose are products of photosynthesis, other macromolecules like lipids are also involved in the cellular respiration process.

Furthermore, although ATP is produced during both glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, most of the ATP production is attributed to oxidative phosphorylation.