What are the roles of ubiquinone in cellular respiration?
A.
In the mitochondrial respiratory chain, the small, hydrophobic molecule ubiquinone picks up electrons from the NADH dehydrogenase complex and delivers them to the cytochrome c reductase complex.
B.
A ubiquinone molecule can accept or donate either one or two electrons, and it picks up one H + from water with each electron that it carries.
C.
Its redox potential of +30 mV places ubiquinone between the NADH dehydrogenase complex and the cytochrome c reductase complex in terms of its tendency to gain or lose electrons—which explains why ubiquinone receives electrons from the former and donates them to the latter.
D.
Ubiquinone also serves as the entry point for electrons donated by the FADH 2 that is generated both during the citric acid cycle and from fatty acid oxidation.