HW8 - METABOLISM 1

PANTOJA, ARIEL S.
BSN 1-Y2-12

1. Which of the following processes generates the most ATP? (Account for the no. of ATP)

a. Citric Acid Cycle

- Oxidative phosphorylation, the process where electron transport from the energy
precursors from the citric acid cycle leads to the phosphorylation of ADP,
producing ATP. This also occurs in the mitochondria.

b. Fatty Acid oxidation

- Fatty acid oxidation is the mitochondrial aerobic process of breaking down a fatty
acid into acetyl-CoA units. Fatty acids move in this pathway as CoA derivatives
utilizing NAD and FAD. Fatty acids are activated before oxidation, utilizing ATP in
the presence of CoA-SH and acyl-CoA synthetase.

c. Glycogenolysis
- glycogenolysis is a way of freeing up glucose, and glucose is used in the
formation of ATP, it occurs when energy is low and more energy is needed.

d. Glycolysis
- During glycolysis, glucose ultimately breaks down into pyruvate and energy; a
total of 2 ATP is derived in the process (Glucose + 2 NAD+ + 2 ADP + 2 Pi --> 2
Pyruvate + 2 NADH + 2 H+ + 2 ATP + 2 H2O). The hydroxyl groups allow for
phosphorylation.

e. Pentose phosphate pathway

- The pathway is 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. Subsequent cleavage of
the pentose phosphate typically produces glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and
acetate or acetyl phosphate (depending on the enzyme system). The net yield of
ATP for this pathway is typically only 1 ATP per glucose molecule.

2. What are the overall chemical changes that occur during one complete turn of the Krebs
cycle?
- The citric acid cycle, the acetyl group from acetyl CoA is attached to a four-carbon
oxaloacetate molecule to form a six-carbon citrate molecule. Through a series of steps,
citrate is oxidized, releasing two carbon dioxide molecules for each acetyl group fed into
the cycle. In the process, three NAD+ molecules are reduced to NADH, one FAD
molecule is reduced to FADH2, and one ATP or GTP (depending on the cell type) is
produced (by substrate-level phosphorylation). Because the final product of the citric
acid cycle is also the first reactant, the cycle runs continuously in the presence of
sufficient reactants.
3. Does the mitochondrial matrix ever run out of protons for pumping in oxidative
phosphorylation?
- The proton gradient produced by proton pumping during the electron transport chain is
used to synthesize ATP. Protons flow down their concentration gradient into the matrix
through the membrane protein ATP synthase, causing it to spin (like a water wheel) and
catalyze conversion of ADP to ATP.