Title: Proton Flows, Proton Gradients and Subcellular Architecture in Biological Energy Conversion Show Chinese title

Title: 质子流、质子梯度与生物能量转换中的亚细胞结构

Abstract: Hydrogen cations, or protons, provide the medium by which energy is stored and converted in biological systems. Such pre-eminence relies on the interplay between interfacial and bulk chemical transformations, according to mechanisms that are shared by organisms in all phyla of life. The present work provides an introduction to the fundamental aspects of biological energy management by focusing on the relationship between vectorial proton flows and the geometry of energy producing organelles in eukaryotes. The leading models of proton-mediated energy conversion, the delocalised proton (or chemiosmotic) model and the localised proton model, are presented in a complementary perspective. While the delocalised model provides a description that relies on equilibrium thermodynamics, the localised model addresses dynamic processes that are better described using out-of-equilibrium thermodynamics. The work reviews the salient aspects of such mechanisms, traces the development of our present understanding, and highlights areas that are open to future developments. Show Chinese abstract

Abstract: 氢离子或质子是生物系统中能量储存和转换的媒介。 根据所有生命门类中的生物所共有的机制，这种主导地位依赖于界面和体相化学转化之间的相互作用。 本研究通过关注真核生物中产能细胞器的几何结构与矢量质子流之间的关系，介绍了生物能量管理的基本方面。 质子介导的能量转换的主要模型——离域质子（或化学渗透）模型和局域质子模型，以互补的视角进行阐述。 虽然离域模型提供了一种基于平衡热力学的描述，而局域模型则涉及使用非平衡热力学更好地描述的动态过程。 这项工作回顾了这些机制的关键方面，追溯了我们目前理解的发展，并突出了未来可能发展的领域。