Introduction to metabolism

• Bioenergetics
– is the quantitative study of energy transductions
changes of one form of energy into another—that
occur in living cells, and of the nature and function
of the chemical processes underlying these
transductions.
• More than a thousand chemical reactions take
place in even as simple an organism.
• Metabolism has a coherent design containing
many common motifs.
• 100 molecules play central roles in all forms of
life.
• The number of reactions in metabolism is
large, the number of kinds of reactions is small
 Cells Transform Different Types of Energy

• Input of free energy for three major purposes:

– the performance of mechanical work
– the active transport of molecules and ions
– synthesis of macromolecules and other
biomolecules
• First Law of Thermodynamics
• Energy is being extracted from fuels and used
to power biosynthetic processes.
• These transformations are referred to as
metabolism or intermediary metabolism.
 Metabolism Is Composed of Many
Coupled, Interconnecting Reactions
• Metabolism is essentially a linked series of
chemical reactions that begins with a
particular molecule and converts it into some
other molecule.
• 2 metabolic pathways are there
– those that convert energy into biologically useful
forms
– those that require inputs of energy to proceed
 ATP is the Universal Currency of Free
Energy
• Metabolism is facilitated by the use of common
currency
– ATP
– Free energy donor
– triphosphate moiety is important while considering
role of ATP as energy currency
• ATP is a nucleotide consisting of an adenine, a
ribose, and a triphosphate unit.
• ATP with Mg2+ or Mn2+…Active form
• Energy rich …. its triphosphate unit contains
two phosphoanhydride bonds.
• On hydrolysis of ATP, adenosine diphosphate
(ADP) and orthophosphate (Pi) are generated
– AMP and pyrophosphate (PPi) .
• The free energy liberated in the hydrolysis of
ATP is harnessed to drive reactions that
require an input of free energy.
• ATP is formed from ADP and Pi when fuel
molecules are oxidized in chemotrophs or
when light is trapped by phototrophs.
• Some biosynthetic reactions are driven by
hydrolysis of nucleoside triphosphates
– GTP, UTP, CTP
 Phosphoryl Transfer Potential Is an
Important Form of Cellular Energy
Transformation
• The standard free energies of hydrolysis
provide a convenient means of comparing the
phosphoryl transfer potential of
phosphorylated compounds.
– Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), 1,3-
bisphosphoglycerate (1,3-BPG), and creatine
phosphate
Standard Free Energies of Hydrolysis
Extraction of energy from foodstuff
Metabolic Pathways with Recurrent Motifs

• Activated Carriers
• Activated carriers of electrons for fuel
oxidation:
• Aerobic organisms ultimate electron acceptor is
oxygen.
– For electron transfer special carriers are there
• pyridine nucleotides or flavins
• The reduced forms of these carriers then
transfer their high potential electrons to O2.
Oxidized Forms of Nicotinamide-Derived
Electron Carriers
Oxidized Form of Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide
An activated carrier of electrons for reductive
biosynthesis.
• NADPH is used almost exclusively for reductive
biosynthesis, whereas NADH is used primarily
for the generation of ATP.
Coenzyme A: Activated carrier of Acyl groups
 Key Reactions Are Reiterated Throughout
Metabolism
• Oxidation-reduction reactions
• Ligation reactions
• Isomerization reactions
• Group-transfer reactions
• Hydrolytic reactions
• The addition of functional groups to double
bonds or the removal of groups to form
double bonds
Oxidation-Reduction reactions
Ligation Reations
Isomerization Reactions
Group Transfer Reactions
Hydrolytic Reactions
The addition of functional groups to
double bonds or the removal of
groups to form double bonds