Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching was used to determine the diffusion coefficients of the oxidation-reduction (redox) components ubiquinone, complex III (cytochromes b-cl), cytochrome c, and complex IV (cytochrome oxidase) of the mitochondrial inner membrane. All redox components diffuse in two dimensions as common-pool electron carriers. Cytochrome c diffuses in two and three dimensions concomitantly, and its diffusion rate, unlike that of all other redox components, is modulated along with its activity by ionic strength. The diffusion coefficients established in this study reveal that the theoretical diffusion-controlled collision frequencies of all redox components are greater than their experimental maximum (uncoupled) turnover numbers. Since electron transport is slower than the theoretical limit set by the lateral diffusion of the redox components, ordered chains, assemblies, or aggregates of redox components are not necessary to account for electron transport. Rather, mitochondrial electron transport is diffusion coupled, consistent with a "random-collision model" for electron transport.A number of recent studies suggest that the oxidation-reduction (redox) components of the mitochondrial inner membrane are not arranged as an ordered macromolecular assembly or chain but are free to diffuse laterally and independently of one another in the membrane plane (1-5). These components include the dehydrogenase-containing complexes I and II, cytochrome b-cl complex III, cytochrome oxidase complex IV, cytochrome c, and ubiquinone. Implicit in these studies, and consistent with a "random-collision model," the rate of electron transfer between the membrane redox components may be diffusion coupled and, indeed, diffusion controlled (2).It is the purpose of this paper to report the rates of lateral diffusion for the inner membrane redox components as de-termined by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and to evaluate such diffusion with respect to electron transport.Based on the diffusion coefficients established experimentally by our study, the calculated diffusion-controlled collision frequencies of all redox components are greater than their experimental maximum turnover numbers. Thus electron transfer between all redox components is diffusion coupled in the mitochondrial inner membrane, consistent with a random-collision model (2) (7), and purified mitoplasts (7) were washed in isolation medium diluted 1:7.5 (40 mOsm) to give spherical inner membranes (8), then washed twice with 0.15 M KCI/1 mM Hepes, pH 7.4, to remove native cytochrome c. Calcium-induced fusion of these inner membranes was carried out in a chamber x100 1Lm high formed between a glass coverslip and slide with Scotch double-stick tape shims. Twenty microliters of the spherical membranes (5 mg/ml) was added to the chamber from one side, and 20 ,ul of 10 mM CaC12/5 mM Hepes, pH 6.4, was added from the other side and then incubated at 35C for 7 min. Fusion was stopped by washing the chamber with 0.05 ml of 10 mM potassium phospha...