reduction

(noun)

A reaction in which electrons are gained and valence is reduced; often by the removal of oxygen or the addition of hydrogen.

Related Terms

Examples of reduction in the following topics:

  • Electrons and Energy

    • The transfer of electrons between molecules via oxidation and reduction allows the cell to transfer and use energy for cellular functions.
    • Instead, the electron shifts to a second compound, reducing the second compound (oxidation of one species always occurs in tandem with reduction of another).
    • The transfer of electrons between molecules via oxidation and reduction is important because most of the energy stored in atoms is in the form of high-energy electrons; it is this energy that is used to fuel cellular functions.

  • The Calvin Cycle

    • The Calvin cycle is organized into three basic stages: fixation, reduction, and regeneration.
    • The light-independent reactions of the Calvin cycle can be organized into three basic stages: fixation, reduction, and regeneration.
    • This is a reduction reaction because it involves the gain of electrons by 3-PGA.
    • Recall that a reduction is the gain of an electron by an atom or molecule.

  • Comparing Meiosis and Mitosis

    • For this reason, meiosis I is referred to as a reduction division.
    • There is no such reduction in ploidy level during mitosis.
    • Meiosis II is not a reduction division because, although there are fewer copies of the genome in the resulting cells, there is still one set of chromosomes, as there was at the end of meiosis I.

  • Genome Evolution

    • There are various mechanisms that have contributed to genome evolution and these include gene and genome duplications, polyploidy, mutation rates, transposable elements, pseudogenes, exon shuffling and genomic reduction and gene loss.
    • Many species exhibit genome reduction when subsets of their genes are not needed anymore.

  • Acetyl CoA to CO2

    • For each acetyl CoA that enters the citric acid cycle, two carbon dioxide molecules are released in reactions that are coupled with the production of NADH molecules from the reduction of NAD+ molecules.

  • Abiotic Factors Influencing Plant Growth

    • It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through chemosynthesis, which uses the oxidation or reduction of chemical compounds as its source of energy.

  • Nitrogen Fixation: Root and Bacteria Interactions

    • This process entails the reduction of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia by means of the enzyme nitrogenase.

  • Introduction to Meiosis

    • To achieve this reduction in chromosomes, meiosis consists of one round of chromosome duplication and two rounds of nuclear division.

  • Prokaryotes and Environmental Bioremediation

    • The reduction of SeO4-2 to SeO3-2 and to Se0 (metallic selenium) is a method used to remove selenium ions from water.

  • Protists as Human Pathogens

    • Greater surveillance and control measures lead to a reduction in reported cases; some of the lowest numbers reported in 50 years (fewer than 10,000 cases in all of sub-Saharan Africa) have happened since 2009.