Metabolism

Metabolism = Catabolism + Anabolism

 Catabolic reactions are energy yielding

 They are involved in the breakdown of more-
complex molecules into simpler ones
 Anabolic reactions are energy requiring
 They are involved in the building up of simpler
molecules into more-complex ones
 We can consider these bioenergetics in terms
of the physical laws of thermodynamics
Laws of thermodynamics

 Energy can be transferred or transformed

but neither created nor destroyed
 Every energy transfer or transformation
increases the disorder (entropy) of the
universe
 First Law of Thermodynamics:
• Energy can be neither created nor
destroyed
• Therefore, energy “generated” in any
system is energy that has been
transformed from one state to another
(e.g., chemically stored energy
transformed to heat)
 Second Law of Thermodynamics:
• Efficiencies of energy transformation
never equal 100%
• Therefore, all processes lose energy,
typically as heat, and are not reversible
unless the system is open & the lost
energy is resupplied from the
environment
• Conversion to heat is the ultimate fate
of chemical energy
 Organisms take in energy & transduce it to new
forms (1st law)
 As energy transducers, organisms are less than
100% efficient (2nd law)
 Organisms employ this energy to:
• Grow
• Protect Themselves
• Repair Themselves
• Compete with other Organisms
• Make new Organisms (I.e., babies)
 In the process, organisms generate waste
chemicals & heat
 However !!!

 The term metabolism is commonly used

to refer to intracellular
oxidation=cellular respiration.
 intracellular oxidation is the break down
of food substance in the presence of
oxygen to release Energy. Part of this
energy is dissipated as heat
Exothermic Reactions

 Catabolic reactions
 ATP producing
 Spontaneous
 Downhill
 Movement towards equilibrium
 Increase in stability
Endothermic Reactions

 Anabolic Reactions
 ATP requiring
 Non-spontaneous
 Uphill
 Movement away from equilibrium
 Decrease in stability
Catabolic reactions provide the energy
that drives anabolic reactions forward

Catabolic
reaction

Anabolic
reaction
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

Call this “A”

Energy Coupling via ATP
Hydrolysis of ATP

Movement
toward
equilibrium
 Summary of Metabolic Coupling
Endergonic Exergonic
reaction reaction

Exergonic Endergonic
reaction reaction

Get it? Exergonic processes drive Endergonic processes

Enzyme Catalyzed Reaction

Enzyme
Enzyme-mediated Catalysis

= Subtle
application
of energy
 Activators of Catalysis

Metal Ion or =
Organic Molecule

= Organic
Cofactor

Polypeptide
Specific Inhibition
Competitive
inhibitors can
be competed
off by
supplying
sufficient
substrate
densities

Non-competitive
inhibitors cannot
be competed off
by substrate
 Cooperativity
Cooperativity
is when the
activity of
other
subunits are
increased by
substrate
binding to
one subunit’s
active site