Brown fat is a specialized tissue found especially in infants and hibernating mammals. Brown fat mitochondria have proton channels located in their inner membranes that allow protons to flow from the intermembrane space into the mitochondrial matrix without passing through ATP synthase. What does the flow of protons through these channels mean for the organism?

The energy of proton concentration gradient is dissipated as heat.

Explanation:

Brown fat mitochondria have proton channels in the inner mitochondrial membrane to facilitate the diffusion of protons from the intermembrane space into the mitochondrial matrix. Unlike the proton channels of the ATP synthase of other mitochondria, the downhill movement of protons through proton channels is not coupled with the synthesis of ATP. Rather, the energy of the proton concentration gradient is released as heat to maintain the body temperature of infants and hibernating mammals.