Effect of the conformational transitions on electron transfer in biological systems

The influence of the conformational changes in the system on the electron transfer (ET) is considered. In the present work it was assumed that the electron interacts with two baths. The influence of one bath is through the stochastic function c(t) that characterizes the conformational changes of the system, and the other is a set of harmonic oscillators. The rate of ET was derived in the master equation approach. The solution of the generalized master equation for the gating processes was obtained. It was shown that the contribution to the temperature dependence of the rate constant that comes from electronic coupling could be dominant. The presented theory was used to provide an alternative elucidation of the cytochrome c oxidation in Chromatium vinosum photosynthetic bacteria.