Chlororespiration

Chlororespiration is a process in plant chloroplasts which is thought to involve a respiratory electron transport chain within the thylakoid membrane. It is thought to involve a proton pumping respiratory dehydrogenase (the Ndh complex), and Immutans, an oxidase similar to the mitochondrial alternative oxidase, which reduces the plastoquinone pool. This process may function to balance ATP: reductant levels in the chloroplast at night, when cyclic electron transfer around Photosystem I cannot occur.