Consider the oxidation of ethanol (CH3CH2OH) to carbon dioxide and water and the production of ATP. Ethanol is converted to Acetyl-CoA in three steps:...

Consider the oxidation of ethanol (CH3CH2OH) to carbon dioxide and water and the production of ATP.

Ethanol is converted to Acetyl-CoA in three steps: NotethattheconversionofATPtoAMP,insteadofADP,isequivalentenergeticallytoburningtwo moleculesofATP(inotherwords,step3usesuptwomoleculesofATP). TheacetylCoAformedfrom ethanolthenenterstheTCAcycleandisoxidizedtoCO2 andwaterasnormal. Giventhispathwayand thepathwaysyouknow,pleaseanswerthefollowing:

a. How many electrons pass through the mitochondrial electron transport chain per ethanol molecule oxidized?

b. How many protons are pumped in the process? Remember that not all electrons go through NADH, some enter the electron transfer chain via FADH2 in Complex II. Assume that the NADH produced during the oxidation of ethanol in the reactions above is directly available to the mitochondrial electron transport chain.

c. If you took the number of protons pumped per ethanol molecule calculated in part (b) above and made ATP via the mitochondrial ATP synthase , how many ATP molecules would be generated? The human mitochondrial ATP synthase has 10 C-subunits.

d. A more accurate estimate of the net number of ATP molecules made per ethanol molecule can be obtained by taking into account the total ATP used or created during the metabolism of ethanol (in the oxidation of ethanol to acetyl-CoA and in the TCA cycle). Base your estimate, as the book does for glucose and palmitic acid, on the number of FADH2 and NADH molecules generated during this process. Add or subtract any ATP made or used during the metabolism of ethanol. Assume 1.5 ATP's made per FADH2 and 2.5 ATP's per NADH.