In eukaryotic organisms the electron transport chain, and site of oxidative phosphorylation, is found on the inner mitochondrial membrane. The energy stored from the process of respiration in reduced compounds (such as NADH and FADH) is used by the electron transport chain to pump protons into the intermembrane space, generating the electrochemical gradient over the inner mitochondrial membrane. In photosynthetic eukaryotes, the electron transport chain is found on the thylakoid membrane. Here, light energy drives the reduction of components of the electron transport chain and therefore causes subsequent synthesis of ATP. In bacteria, the electron transport chain can vary over species but it always constitutes a set of redox reactions that are coupled to the synthesis of ATP, through the generation of an electrochemical gradient, and oxidative phosphorylation through ATP synthase.