Energy metabolism

Cellular Respiration
Cellular respiration or Aerobic
Respiration is the process that occurs in
the mitochondria of organisms to break
down sugar in the presence of oxygen to
release energy in the form of ATP.
Adenosine triphosphate ATP provides
energy directly to all the plant's cells
It is often referred to as the energy
currency of the cell and can be
compared to storing money in a bank.
Reactants and Products
-The purpose of cellular respiration is to make
energy. Cells store energy as ATP. ATP acts like
money in the cell. Cells spend it to get things done
or make different products they need.
-To make ATP in cellular respiration, we need some
raw materials to start with. Glucose is the type of
sugar needed. It holds most of the energy we want
to covert to ATP in chemical bonds. As the glucose
is converted to other compounds by the cell,
energy is released and can be stored as ATP.

Glycolysis
-The literal meaning of glycolysis is ‘splitting
sugar’. Glykos comes from the Greek word
‘sweet’ and lysis means ‘to split’.
-Glycolysis is a series of reactions that extract
energy from glucose by splitting it into 2
molecules of pyruvate.
-Glycolysis is a biochemical pathway that
evolved long ago and is found in the majority
of organisms.
-In organisms that perform cellular respiration,
glycolysis is the first stage of the process.
However, glycolysis doesn’t require oxygen,
and many anaerobic organisms also have
this pathway.

Anaerobic Respiration
The word,

"Anaerobic" means without

oxygen.
In simple words, a series of metabolic
reactions occur without the utilization of
oxygen.
Plants do undergo anaerobic respiration too.
Honestly, there are not so many reactions in
anaerobic respiration but they do provide
very quick energy to the cell in large
amounts.
Krebs Cycle / Citric Acid Cycle
The Krebs cycle, or also known as the citric acid cycle. It can
be described as a metabolic pathway that generates energy.
This process happens in the mitochondrial matrix, where
pyruvate has been imported following glycolysis. The final
products of the Krebs cycle include 2 molecules of CO2, 3
molecules of NADH, 1 molecule of FADH2, and 1 molecule of
GTP. These products are generated per single molecule of
pyruvate. The products of the Krebs cycle power the electron
transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation. Acetyl CoA
enters the Krebs cycle after the transition reaction has taken
place (conversion of pyruvate to acetyl CoA).

Electron Transport Chain / Chemiosmosis

The electron transport chain is the final stage in cellular
respiration. It occurs on the inner mitochondrial membrane
and consists of several electron carriers. The purpose of the
electron transport chain is to form a gradient of protons that
produces ATP. It moves electrons from NADH to FADH2 to
molecular oxygen by pumping protons from the
mitochondrial matrix to the intermembrane space resulting in
the reduction of oxygen to water. Therefore, the role of
oxygen in cellular respiration is the final electron acceptor. It
is worth noting that the electron transport chain of
prokaryotes may not require oxygen. Other chemicals
including sulfate can be used as electron acceptors in the
replacement of oxygen.

Photosynthesis
The process by which green plants and other
animals convert light energy into chemical
energy is known as photosynthesis (6CO2 +
6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2). Light energy is
absorbed and utilized by green plants during
photosynthesis to convert water, carbon dioxide,
and minerals into oxygen and energy-rich organic molecules.
Photosynthetic organisms, known as photoautotrophs,
capture the energy from sunlight and use it to produce
organic compounds through the process of
photosynthesis.
Photosynthetic organisms include plants, algae, and a
group of bacteria called cyanobacteria.

Chlorophyll
Inside the plant cell are small
organelles called chloroplasts, which
store the energy of sunlight.
Within the thylakoid membranes of the
chloroplast is a light-absorbing
pigment called chlorophyll,
It is responsible for giving the plant its
green color.
During photosynthesis, chlorophyll
absorbs energy from blue- and red-
light waves, and reflects green-light
waves, making the plant appear
green.

Light-dependent reactions
-The light-dependent reaction takes place within the thylakoid
membrane and requires a steady stream of sunlight, hence the name
light-dependent reaction.
-The chlorophyll absorbs energy from the light waves, which is
converted into chemical energy in the form of the molecules ATP
and NADPH.

Light-independent reactions
also known as the Calvin Cycle
takes place in the stroma, the space between the thylakoid
membranes and the chloroplast membranes, and does not require
light, hence the name light-independent reaction
During this stage, energy from the ATP and NADPH molecules is used
to assemble carbohydrate molecules, like glucose, from carbon
dioxide.

C3 and C4 photosynthesis
C3 photosynthesis
Used by the majority of plants.
It involves producing a three-carbon
compound called 3-phosphoglyceric acid
during the Calvin Cycle, which goes on to
become glucose.
C4 photosynthesis
produces a four-carbon intermediate
compound, which splits into carbon dioxide
and a three-carbon compound during the
Calvin Cycle.
A benefit of C4 photosynthesis is that by
producing higher levels of carbon, it allows
plants to thrive in environments without much
light or water.

C3 Cycle (Calvin Cycle) Commonly known as

Calvin Cycle (Melvin Calvin described it first)
Examples of C3 plants: Wheat,
Rye,Oats,Rice,Cotton,Sunflower, Chlorella
Leaves of C3 plants do not have Kranz anatomy.
C3 plants are cool season plants, commonly seen
in cool and wet areas ( temperate areas)
The C3 cycle is present in all plants.
First stable product in C3 cycle is 3 carbon (3C,
hence the name) compound - Phosphoglyceric
Acid (PGA)
The CO2 acceptor in the C3 cycle is RuBP
(Ribulose-1,5-biosphate)
The first enzyme in C3 cycle is RUBISCO
(Ribulose-1,5-biosphate carboxylase/oxygenase)
The first enzymes RUBISCO has affinity towards
oxygen
Increased oxygen concentration has an inhibitory
effect on C3 cycle.

C4 Cycle (Hatch & Slack Pathway)

C4 cyce is commonly known as Hatch and Slack
pathways (in honor of Marshall Davidson Hatch and C.
R. Slack who elucidated this pathway)
Examples of C4 plants: Maize, sugarcane, sorghum,
amaranthus.
Leaves of c4 plants possess Kranz anatomy.
C4 plants are warm season plants, commonly seen in
dry areas (tropical areas)
The C4 cycle is present only in C4 plants
First stable product in C4 cycle is a 4 carbon (4C,
hence the name) compound- Oxaloacetic Acid (OAA)
The first CO2 acceptor in the C4 cycle is PEP
(Phosphoenolpyruvate).
PEP is a 3 carbon compound.
The first enzyme in C4 is carboxylase.
First enzyme PEP carboxylase does not have any
affinity for oxygen
Concentration of oxygen does not have any inhibitory
role in C4 cycle.