Cell Language Theory, The: Connecting Mind And Matter

126 The Cell Language Theory: Connecting Mind and Matter

b2861 The Cell Language Theory: Connecting Mind and Matter “6x9”

apparently can vary from 8 to 12 depending on organisms (see Figures 3.35

and 3.36). In addition, the most significant deficiency of the chemiosmotic

model, from the theoretical point of view, is the lack of any enzymologi-

cally realistic molecular mechanism of generating the proton-motive

force, comparable to the one depicted in Figure 3.30.

3.3.4 A Comparison Between the Chemiosmotic and Conformon

Models of Oxidative Phosphorylation

A visual comparison between the chemiosmotic and conformon models of

oxphos is given in Figure 3.34. There are three essential differences

between these two models:

(1) The absence in the former and the presence in the latter of the con-

cept of conformons, the molecular mechanisms postulated to underly

all bioenergetic processes in the living cell (see process 4 in Figure

3.29 and Section 3.4).

(2) The transmembrane proton gradient as the primary cause for ATP

synthesis in the former and as caused by the conformon in the latter

(compare processes 3 and 4 in Figure 3.29).

(3) Of the two possible mechanisms for coupling respiration and phos-

phorylation reactions, namely via the intra-membrane proton move-

ment (i.e., step 2 followed by step 4 in Figure 3.29) and the

trans-membrane proton movement (i.e., step 3 in Figure 3.29) fol-

lowed by the bulk phase proton-driven shifting of the equilibrium

reaction, ADP + Pi + H+ ↔ ATP + H 2 O, toward ATP synthesis), only

the latter of which is being utilized by the chemiosmotic model (see

Figure 3.32b).

I have long been a critic of the chemiosmotic hypothesis [7, 14, 25],

primarily because the model does not propose any fundamental theories

nor principles concerning the molecular mechanisms underlying oxidative

phosphorylation and photophosphorylation. Besides, even if the chemios-

motic hypothesis proves to be phenomenologically correct, it cannot rep-

resent a universal principle of biological energy coupling, because there

are membrane-independent (and hence non-osmotic) energy-coupled

b2861_Ch-03.indd 126 17-10-2017 11:46:43 AM