Glycolysis, Krebs Cycle, and other Energy-Releasing Pathways All organisms produce ATP by releasing energy stored in glucose

and other sugars. Plants make ATP during photosynthesis. All other organisms, including plants, must produce ATP by breaking down molecules such as glucose Aerobic respiration - the process by which a cell uses O2 to "burn" molecules and release energy The reaction: C6H12O6 + 6O2 >> 6CO2 + 6H2O Note: this reaction is the opposite of photosynthesis This reaction takes place over the course of three major reaction pathways Glycolysis The Krebs Cycle Electron Transport Phosphorylation (chemiosmosis) Glycolysis (glyco = sugar; lysis = breaking) Goal: break glucose down to form two pyruvates Who: all life on earth performs glyclolysis Where: the cytoplasm Glycolysis produces 4 ATP's and 2 NADH, but uses 2 ATP's in the process for a net of 2 ATP and 2 NADH NOTE: this process does not require O2 and does not yield much energy

The First Stage of Glycolysis Glucose (6C) is broken down into 2 PGAL's (Phosphoglyceraldehyde - 3Carbon molecules) This requires two ATP's

The Second Stage of Glycolysis 2 PGAL's (3C) are converted to 2 pyruvates This creates 4 ATP's and 2 NADH's The net ATP production of Glycolysis is 2 ATP's

Oxidation of Pyruvate and the Krebs Cycle (citric acid cycle, TCA cycle) Goal: take pyruvate and put it into the Krebs cycle, producing NADH and FADH 2 Where: the mitochondria There are two steps o The Conversion of Pyruvate to Acetyl CoA o The Krebs Cycle proper The Krebs cycle and the conversion of pyruvate to Acetyl CoA produce 2 ATP's, 8 NADH's, and 2FADH2's per glucose molecule The Oxidation of Pyruvate to form Acetyl CoA for Entry Into the Krebs Cycle 2 NADH's are generated (1 per pyruvate) 2 CO2 are released (1 per pyruvate)

The Krebs Cycle Krebs Cycle Animation 6 NADH's are generated (3 per Acetyl CoA that enters) 2 FADH2 is generated (1 per Acetyl CoA that enters) 2 ATP are generated (1 per Acetyl CoA that enters) 4 CO2's are released (2 per Acetyl CoA that enters)

Therefore, the total numbers of molecules generated in the oxidation of pyruvate and the Krebs Cycle is: o 8 NADH o 2 FADH2 o 2 ATP o 6 CO2 Electron Transport Phosphorylation (Chemiosmosis) Goal: to break down NADH and FADH2, pumping H+ into the outer compartment of the mitochondria Where: the mitochondria In this reaction, the ETS creates a gradient which is used to produce ATP, quite like in the chloroplast Electron Transport Phosphorylation typically produces 32 ATP's ATP is generated as H+ moves down its concentration gradient through a special enzyme called ATP synthase

Net Engergy Production from Aerobic Respiration Glycolysis: 2 ATP Krebs Cycle: 2 ATP Electron Transport Phosphorylation: 32 ATP o Each NADH produced in Glycolysis is worth 2 ATP (2 x 2 = 4) - the NADH is worth 3 ATP, but it costs an ATP to transport the NADH into the mitochondria, so there is a net gain of 2 ATP for each NADH produced in gylcolysis o Each NADH produced in the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl COA and Krebs Cycle is worth 3 ATP (8 x 3 = 24) o Each FADH2 is worth 2 ATP (2 x 2 = 4) o 4 + 24 + 4 = 32 Net Energy Production: 36 ATP! Anaerobic Respiration Goal: to reduce pyruvate, thus generating NAD+ Where: the cytoplasm Why: in the absence of oxygen, it is the only way to generate NAD + Alcohol Fermentation - occurs in yeasts in many bacteria o The product of fermentation, alcohol, is toxic to the organism

Lactic Acid Fermentation - occurs in humans and other mammals o The product of Lactic Acid fermentation, lactic acid, is toxic to mammals o This is the "burn" felt when undergoing strenuous activity

The only goal of fermentation reactions is to convert NADH to NAD + (to use in glycolysis). No energy is gained Note differences - anaerobic respiration - 2 ATP's produced (from glycolysis), aerobic respiration - 36 ATP's produced (from glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and Oxidative Phosphorylation) Thus, the evolution of an oxygen-rich atmosphere, which facilitated the evolution of aerobic respiration, was crucial in the diversification of life Photosynthesis: 6 CO2 + 6 H2O >> C6H12O6 + 6 O2 Respiration: C6H12O6 + 6 O2 >> 6 CO2 + 6 H2O Notice that these reactions are opposites - this is important since the earth is a closed system All life has a set amount of natural materials to work with, so it is important that they all be cycled through effectively and evenly Energy Yields: Glucose: 686 kcal/mol ATP: 7.5 kcal/mol 7.5 x 36 = 270 kcal/mol for all ATP's produced 270 / 686 = 39% energy recovered from aerobic respiration Related Catabolic Processes - Beta Oxidation Fats consist of a glycerol backbone with two or three fatty acids connected to it The body absorbs fats and then breaks off the fatty acids from the glycerol Glycerol is converted to glyceraldehyde phosphate, an intermediate of glycolysis The fatty acids are broken down into two-carbon units which are then converted to acetyl CoA. o An eight-carbon fatty acid can produce 4 acetyl CoA's o Each acetyl CoA is worth 12 ATP's (3 NADP, 1 FADH2, 1 ATP) o Therefore, this short fatty acid is worth 48 ATP's, a fat with three chains of this length would be worth 144 ATP's! o This is why fats are such a good source of energy, and are hard to lose if you want to lose weight A comparison between Plants and Animals Animal cells and Plant cells contain mitochondria!

o However, animal cells contain many more mitochondria than plant cells Animal cells get most of their ATP from mitochondria Plant cells get most of their ATP from the chloroplast o The ATP generated from the mitochondria is only used when the plant cannot generate ATP directly from the light-dependent reactions Other Uses for Molecules used in Glycolysis and the Krebs Cycle Not all of the molecules that enter Glycolysis and the Krebs Cycle are used for energy Some are used to synthesize fats, nucleotides, amino acids, and other biologically important molecules. Regulation of Glycolysis and the Krebs Cycle Step 3 of Glycolysis - The conversion of Fructose 6-phosphate to Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate o Enzyme catalyzing this reaction = Phosphofructokinase o "Committing Step" - Fructose 6-phosphate can be used by the cell for lots of things, but fructose 1,6-bisphosphate has limited use except in glycolysis o Phosphofructokinase inhibited by high levels of ATP ATP is also a substrate - odd, eh? Enzyme has two ATP binding sites, one in the active site and one in an allosteric site Low to mid levels of ATP cause ATP to bind to the active site High levels of ATP also enable ATP to bind to allosteric site, causing a conformation change and shutting down the enzyme Conversion of Pyruvate to Acetyl CoA o Enzyme involved in catalyzing this reaction = pyruvate dehydrogenase o High levels of ATP slow down this reaction by phosporylating the enzyme, changing its shape and shutting it down High levels of NADH and Acetyl CoA also inhibit this enzyme o NAD+, CoA, or AMP (an indicator of low ATP) can speed up the reaction