Glycolysis

➢ Greek word- glycos meaning sweet/sugar and lysis meaning dissolution

➢ Glycolysis is the first step in the breakdown of glucose to extract energy

for cellular metabolism. Glycolysis consists of an energy-requiring phase
followed by an energy-releasing phase.

➢ Glycolysis is a series of reactions that extract energy from glucose by

splitting it into two three-carbon molecules called pyruvates.

➢ Sequence of reactions converting glucose/ glycogen to pyruvate/lactate

with production of ATP.

➢ Embden-Meyerhof pathway
➢ In organisms that perform cellular respiration, glycolysis is the first stage of
this process. However, glycolysis doesn’t require oxygen, and many
anaerobic organisms—organisms that do not use oxygen—also have this
pathway.

➢ Glycolysis takes place in the cytosol of a cell, and it can be broken down into
three main phases:
❖ energy-requiring phase,
❖ splitting phase
❖ energy-releasing phase,

➢ Reversal of glycolysis along with the alternate arrangement at the

irreversible steps will result in the synthesis of glucose (Gluconeogenesis)
➢ Energy-requiring phase- In this phase, the starting molecule of glucose gets
rearranged, and two phosphate groups are attached to it. The phosphate
groups make the modified sugar—now called fructose-1,6-bisphosphate—
unstable, allowing it to split in half and form two phosphate-bearing three-
carbon sugars. Because the phosphates used in these steps come from ATP, 2
ATP molecules get used up.

➢ Splitting phase- In this step, fructose – 1,6-diphosphate get dissociated to get

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate

➢ Energy-releasing phase - In this phase, each three-carbon sugar is converted

into another three-carbon molecule, pyruvate, through a series of reactions.
In these reactions, two ATP molecules and one NADH molecule are made.
Because this phase takes place twice, once for each of the two three-carbon
sugars, it makes four ATP and two NADH overall.
➢ Overall, glycolysis converts one six-carbon molecule of glucose into two
three-carbon molecules of pyruvate.

➢ The net products of this process are two molecules of ATP and two
molecules of NADH.
Net ATP produced : 8 ATP
Krebs Cycle (Citric Acid Cycle)
Location: in the Mitochondrial Matrix
Main Goal: To Break down pyruvate (pyruvic acid) into
carbon dioxide and Acetyl Co-A and release more energy
Process:
-Each pyruvate loses one carbon and makes a 2
carbon molecule called Acetyl CoA

-The carbon joins with the oxygen (aerobic) that breathe

in to create the carbon dioxide we exhale

-The Acetyl Co-A can then diffuse into the matrix of the
mitochondria
Reactants: Products:
Products from glycolysis
Pyruvate to Acetyl CoA 4 Carbon Molecule to be
ADP recycled
Oxygen ATP
FAD Carbon Dioxide
NAD+ FADH2
NADH
Significance of Krebs Cycle

•Krebs cycle or Citric acid cycle is the final pathway of oxidation of glucose, fats and amino acids

• It is the major source of ATP production in the cells. A large amount of energy is produced after
complete oxidation of nutrients

•It plays an important role in gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis and interconversion of amino acids

•Many intermediate compounds are used in the synthesis of amino acids, nucleotides,
cytochromes and chlorophylls, etc.

• Regulation of Krebs cycle depends on the supply of NAD+ and utilization of ATP in physical and
chemical work
Electron transport chain
 An electron transport chain is a series of protein complexes and other molecules that transfer electrons from
electron donors to electron acceptors via redox reactions and couples this electron transfer with the transfer
of protons across a membrane.

This causes hydrogen ions to accumulate within the matrix space. Therefore, a concentration gradient forms
in which hydrogen ions diffuse out of the matrix space by passing through ATP synthase.

The current of hydrogen ions powers the catalytic action of ATP synthase, which phosphorylates ADP,
producing ATP.

Glycolysis TCA cycle

• The electron transport chain is present in
multiple copies in the inner mitochondrial
membrane of eukaryotes and the plasma
membrane of prokaryotes.

• The electron transport chain is the last

component of aerobic respiration and is the
only part of glucose metabolism that uses
atmospheric oxygen.

• There are four complexes composed of

proteins, labeled I through IV in Figure.
 ATP synthase: machinery to synthesize ATP

ATP synthase uses the proton gradient energy to produce

ATP; It is the release of the energy in the gradient back
through the membrane through the protein ATP Synthase
that drives ATP synthesis

The Chemiosmotic Hypothesis

• Proposed by Peter Mitchell in the 1960’s (Nobel Prize in 1978)
• A proton concentration gradient serves as the energy reservoir
for driving ATP formation
Complex I
To start, two electrons are carried to the first complex aboard NADH. This complex (NADH
dehydrogenase), labeled I, is composed of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and an iron-sulfur (Fe-S)-
containing protein. Complex I can pump four hydrogen ions across the membrane from the matrix into the
intermembrane space.

Q and Complex II
Complex II directly receives FADH2, which does not pass through complex I. The compound connecting
the first and second complexes to the third is ubiquinone (Q). It delivers its electrons to the next complex
in the electron transport chain. Q receives the electrons derived from NADH from complex I and the
electrons derived from FADH2 from complex II.

Complex III
The third complex is composed of cytochrome b, another Fe-S protein, Rieske center (2Fe-2S center), and
cytochrome c proteins; this complex is also called cytochrome oxidoreductase. Complex III pumps protons
through the membrane and passes its electrons to cytochrome c for transport to the fourth complex of
proteins and enzymes.

Complex IV
The fourth complex is composed of cytochrome proteins c, a, and a3. The reduced oxygen then picks up
two hydrogen ions from the surrounding medium to make water (H2O).