Respiration In Plants

DESIGNED

By

Edustudy point
Introduction

• The mechanism of breakdown of food materials within the cell to release energy, and the trapping
of this energy for synthesis of ATP is called cellular respiration.

• The breaking of the C-C bonds of complex compounds through oxidation within the cells, leading to
release of considerable amount of energy is called respiration.

Breathing of plants: Plants require O2 for respiration which occurs

through stomata and lenticels.

• During the process of respiration, the complete combustion of glucose

takes place, which produces CO2 and H2O as end products, yields
energy most of which is given out as heat.

C6H1206 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H20

• All living organisms retain the enzymatic machinery to partially

oxidise glucose without the help of oxygen, this breakdown of glucose
to pyruvic acid is called glycolysis.
Fig. Breathing of plants

Glycolysis: Glycolysis is the process in which glucose, derived from sucrose, undergoes partial oxidation
to form two molecules of pyruvic acid.

• Glucose and fructose are phosphorylated to give rise to glucose-6- phosphate by the activity of the
enzyme hexokinase.

• Glucose-6- phosphate isomerises to

produce fructose-6-phosphate by
phosphogluco isomerase.

• Fructose-6-phosphate converts to fructose

1,6, bisphosphate by phosphofructokinase-
1.

• The fructose 1, 6-diphosphate is split into

dihydroxyacetone phosphate and 3-
phosphoglyceraldehyde (PGAL) by the
enzyme triose phosphate isomerase.

• Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate is converted

to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate by the enzyme
glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate
dehydrogenase.

• 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate is converted to 3-
phosphoglycerate by the enzyme
phosphoglycerate kinase.
• 3-phosphoglycerate is converted to 2-phosphoglycerate by the enzyme phophoglyceromutase.

• Enolase converts 2-phosphoglycerate to phosphoenol pyruvate.

• Pyruvate kinase converts phosphoenol pyruvate to pyruvate.

• ATP is utilised at two steps: first in the conversion of glucose into glucose 6-phosphate and second in
the conversion of fructose 6-phosphate to fructose 1, 6-diphosphate.

• When 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde (PGAL) is converted to 1, 3-bisphosphoglycerate (DPGA), NADH + H+ is

formed from NAD+.

• Coversion of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate and phosphoenol pyruvate to 3-phosphoglycerate and pyruvate,

respectively, are energy-yielding process, where energy is trapped by the formation of ATP.

• There are three major ways in which different cells handle pyruvic acid produced by glycolysis. These
are lactic acid fermentation, alcoholic fermentation and aerobic respiration.

• Fermentation is anaerobic respiration, whereas organisms adopt Krebs’ cycle which is also called as
aerobic respiration.

Fermentation: Fermentation is the incomplete oxidation of glucose under anaerobic conditions by sets of
reactions. Fermentation is of two types-

a. Alcohol fermentation: In this, pyruvic acid is converted to CO2 and ethanol by pyruvic acid
decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase.

Glucose → 2 Ethyl alcohol + 2NADH2 + 2ATP

b. Lactic acid fermentation: In lactic acid

fermentation, lactic acid is produced from pyruvic
acid by lactate dehydrogenase.

Glucose → 2 Lactic acid + 2ATP.

• In eukaryotes, these steps take place within the

mitochondria and this requires O2.
Fig. Lactic acid dehydrogenase

Aerobic respiration: The breakdown of glucose and its successor molecules in the presence of oxygen
to release energy is called aerobic respiration.

• For aerobic respiration, pyruvate is transported from the

cytoplasm into the mitochondria.

• The crucial events in aerobic respiration are:

• The complete oxidation of pyruvate by the stepwise removal of

all the hydrogen atoms, leaving three molecules of CO2.

• The passing on of the electrons removed as part of the

hydrogen atoms to molecular O2 with simultaneous synthesis of
ATP.
 • The first process takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria, whereas the second process is
located on the inner membrane of the mitochondria.

• Pyruvate undergoes oxidative decarboxylation by a complex set of reactions catalysed by pyruvic

dehydrogenase with the participation of several coenzymes, including NAD+ and Coenzyme A.

• Two molecules of NADH are produced from the metabolism of two molecules of pyruvic acid.

• The acetyl CoA then enters a cyclic pathway, tricarboxylic acid cycle, more commonly called as
Krebs’ cycle.

Tricarboxylic acid cycle: Several intermediate compounds are formed, which contain three
carboxylic groups and therefore the process is called as tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA).

• First, the condensation of acetyl group with oxaloacetic acid

(OAA) and water takes place to yield citric acid, catalysed by
the enzyme citrate synthase and a molecule of CoA is released.

• Citrate is then isomerised to isocitrate, which is followed by

two successive steps of decarboxylation, leading to the
formation of α-ketoglutaric acid and then succinyl-CoA.

• Succinyl-CoA is oxidised to OAA allowing the cycle to

continue and during the conversion of succinyl-CoA to succinic
acid a molecule of GTP is synthesised.
Fig. Krebs cycle • In a coupled reaction, GTP is converted to GDP with the simultaneous
synthesis of ATP from ADP.

P Pyruvic acid + 4 NAD + FAATD + 2H2O + ADP + Pi → 3CO2 + 4NADH + 4H + FADH2 +

• During the process, 8NADH2, 2FADH2, 2 GTPs are formed.

Electron transport system: The metabolic pathway through which the electron passes from one
carrier to another, is called the electron transport system (ETS).

• ETS takes place in inner mitochondrial membrane.

• Electron transport chain comprises of the following:

• Complex I: NADH dehydrogenase

• Complex II: succinate dehydrogenase

• Complex III: cytochromes bc1

• Complex IV: cytochromes a-a3

• Complex V: ATP synthase

• NADH2 is oxidized by NADH dehydrogenase and electrons are then transferred to ubiquinone
located in the inner mitochondrial membrane.
 • FADH2 is oxidized by succinate dehydrogenase and transferred electrons to ubiquinone.

• The reduced ubiquinone is then oxidized with transfer of electrons via cytochromes bc1 complex to
cytochrome c.

• Cytochrome c is a small protein attached to the outer surface of the inner membrane and transfer
electrons from complex III to complex IV.

• When electrons transferred from one carrier to another via complex I to complex IV, they are
coupled to ATP synthesis of ATP from ADP and Pi.

• Oxygen plays a vital role in removing electrons and hydrogen ion and finally helps in the production
of H2

Fig. Electron transport chain

The respiratory balance sheet

• The net gain of ATP for every glucose molecule oxidised can be calculated based on the following
assumptions:

• There is a sequential, orderly pathway functioning, with one substrate forming the next and with
glycolysis, TCA cycle and ETS pathway following one after another.

• The NADH synthesised in glycolysis is transferred into the mitochondria and undergoes oxidative
phosphorylation.

• None of the intermediates in the pathway are

utilised to synthesise any other compound.

• Only glucose is being respired.

• There can be a net gain of 36 ATP molecules

during aerobic respiration of one molecule of
glucose.

Fig. Respiratory balance sheet

Difference between fermentation and aerobic respiration

• Fermentation accounts for partial breakdown of glucose, whereas in aerobic respiration it is
completely degraded to CO2 and H2

• In fermentation, there is a net gain of only two molecules of ATP for each molecule of glucose
degraded to pyruvic acid, whereas many more molecules of ATP are generated under aerobic
conditions.

• NADH is oxidised to NAD+ rather slowly in fermentation, however the reaction is very vigorous in
case of aerobic respiration.
 • Amphibolic pathway: Amphibolic pathway is
the one which involves both anabolism and
catabolism.

• Krebs cycle is a classic example of amphibolic

pathway.

• Krebs cycle involves both the catabolism of

carbohydrates and fatty acids and the anabolism
of amino acids.

• Fats should be broken into glycerol and fatty acid, and if fatty
acids were to be respired they would first be degraded to acetyl Fig. Amphibolic pathway
CoA and enter the pathway after being converted to PGAL.

• Glycerol enter the pathway after it is converted to PGAL.

• The proteins would be degraded by proteases and the individual amino acids depending on their
structure would enter the pathway at some stage within the Krebs cycle.

• Fatty acids would be broken down to acetyl CoA before entering the respiratory pathway when it is
used as a substrate.

• But when the organism needs to synthesize fatty acids, acetyl CoA would be withdrawn from the
respiratory pathway for it.

• Respiratory pathway can be seen during both breakdown and synthesis of fatty acids.

Respiratory quotient: The ratio of the volume of CO2 evolved to the volume of O2 consumed in
respiration is called the respiratory quotient (RQ) or respiratory ratio.

RQ = Volume of CO2 evolved / volume of O2 utilized

• The respiratory quotient depends upon the type of respiratory substrate used during respiration.

• When carbohydrates are used as substrate and are completely oxidised, the RQ will be 1, because
equal amounts of CO2 and O2 are evolved and consumed, respectively.

C6H1206 + 6O2 à 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy

RQ = 6/6 = 1

• When fats are used in respiration, the RQ is less than 1. Calculations for a fatty acid, tripalmitin, if
used as a substrate is shown:

2C51H98O6 + 145O2 → 102CO2 + 98H20 + energy

RQ = 102/145 = 0.4

• When proteins are respiratory substrates the ratio would be about 0.9.

• Pure proteins or fats are never used as respiratory substrates.

KHATAM