Chapter 9

Introduction to Metabolism
 An Overview of Metabolism
Metabolism is the total of all chemical reactions in
the cell and is divided into two parts
 catabolism – energy-conserving reactions that also
generate a ready supply of electrons (reducing
power) and precursors for biosynthesis E.g break
down of glucose to release energy in the form of ATP
in the mitochondria.
 anabolism – the synthesis of complex organic
molecules from simpler ones e.g formation of starch
from carbondioxide
 Anabolism
Anabolism are reaction which requires
energy E.g Photosynthesis in chloroplast

Catabolism are reaction where energy is

released E,g Cellular respiration in
mitochondria
 Energy and Work
 Energy is defined as the capacity to do
work or to cause particular changes
 Types of Work Carried out by
Organisms
Chemical work
 Synthesis of complex molecules from simpler precursors (i.e
anabolism). Here energy is needed to increase the
complexity of a cell.
Transport work
 Take up of nutrients, elimination of wastes, and maintenance
of ion balances i.e energy is needed to transport molecules
and ions across a cell membrane against a gradient.
Mechanical work
 Energy is needed for cell motility and movement of
structures within cells
 The Laws of Thermodynamics

To understand how energy is conserved

in ATP and how ATP is used to do work
in a cell, one has to understand the law
of Thermodyanamics.
Thermodynamics
a science that analyzes energy changes in
a collection of matter called a system (e.g.,
a cell or a plant)
 all other matter in the universe is called the
surroundings
….The Laws of Thermodynamics

Thermodynamics focuses on the energy

difference between the initial state and
final state of a system and not the rate
of the process from one state to
another
e.g boiling of water: cold liquid–hot-vapor
i.e energy moves from one state to
another ( thermodyanmics is not
concerned with the rate at which the
water is boiling.
 First Law of Thermodynamics
Two laws of Thermodynamics:
 First Law: energy can be neither created
nor destroyed
 total energy in universe remains constant
however, energy may be redistributed
either within a system or between the
system and its surroundings
 ..First Law of Thermodynamics
 Example in some reaction energy is
released and in some it is absorbed..Why?

 We need the second Law of Dynamics to

explain why?
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Entropy is a condition of matter and the amount of
randomness (disorder) in a system
 The second law of Thermodynamics state that
physical and chemical processes proceed in such
a way that the disorder of the universe ( the
system and its surroundings) increases to the
maximum possible.
 The greater the disorder the greater is the
entropy of the universe, however, the entropy of
a system varies: increases, decreases or remain
constant.
 Energy Units

 calorie (cal)
 amount of heat energy needed to raise 1
gram of water from 14.5 to 15.5°C
 joules (J)-amount of energy can also be
expressed in joules
 units of work capable of being done
 1 cal of heat is equivalent to 4.1840 J of
work
 Refer pg 170 for Kilo joule and Kilo calorie
 Free Energy and Reactions

The first and Second Law of Thermodynamics

can be combined as follows:
Free energy change, G = H - TS

 to expresse the change in energy that can

occur in chemical reactions and other
processes
 to indicate if a reaction will proceed
spontaneously
Where,
 G = H - TS
 G
 free energy change
 amount of energy that is available to do work at
constant temperature and pressure
 H
 change in enthalpy (heat content)/change in the
total energy during the reaction
 T
 temperature in Kelvin (0C +273)
 S
 change in entropy occurring during the reaction
( entropy is randomness/disorder)
 Chemical Equilibrium
The change in the free energy has a definite and concrete
relationship to the direction of chemical reactions.
Equilibrium:
consider the chemical reaction
A+B ↔ C+D
 reaction is at equilibrium when rate of forward reaction = rate
of reverse reaction
Equilibrium constant (Keq)
 expresses the equilibrium concentrations of products and
reactants to one another. No further changes occur in the
products or reactants
 Chemical Equilibrium

Equilibrium Constant:
(Keq) = (C) (D)/(A)(B)
The equilibrium constant (Keq) of a reaction
is directly related to its change in free
energy.
 Standard Free Energy Change
(Gº)
 Standard Free Energy Change is when free
energy change is determined at standard
conditions of concentration, pressure,
temperature, and pH
 Gº symbol used to indicate standard free
energy change at pH 7 (close to pH of living
cells) and is directly related to Keq (equilibrium constant)
 Relationship between Gº & Keq :
Gº´ = -2.303RT•logKeq
Where, R is the gas constant(1.9872 cal/mole-degree) 7 T is
absolute temperature
Types of energy driven reactions
 Exergonic reaction- reactions in a cell when
energy is released from energy source and
standard free energy change (G´) is negative &
Equilibrium constant (Keq) is greater than one.
 Endergonic reactions-reactions in a cell when
energy is trapped and the energy captured by
cell is used to drive reactions to completion,
hence standard free energy change (G´) is
positive & (Keq) is less than one.
 The Relationship…

Figure 9.1 Relationship between Equilibrium constant and Free Energy

Change.
 Assignment on Adenosine 5’
triphosphate (ATP) (SL.19-27) for
next lecture!!
Adenosine 5’ triphosphate
 For all metabolic reactions (exergonic &
endergonic) energy in the form of ATP
drives the processes in a cell
 Some reactions earn ATP and some
process spend ATP
 ATP serves as a link between exergonic &
endergonic reactions
 ATP also referred as Energy Currency of the Cell.
 ..Role of ATP in Metabolism
 Endergonic e;g
reactant (A+b) to
give product (C+D)
 Exergonic breakdown
of ATP to ADP is
aiding an endergonic
reactions to make
them more favorable

Figure 9.3 ATP as a coupling agent

 ..Adenosine-5'-triphosphate
(ATP)
 Adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) is a multifunctional
nucleotide
 "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy
transfer

 In this role, ATP transports chemical energy

 ….Adenosine-5'-triphosphate
(ATP)
 ATP is made from adenosine diphospahate
(ADP) or adenosine monophosphate
(AMP), and its use in metabolism converts
it back into these precursors.

 ATP is therefore continuously recycled in

organisms, with the human body turning
over its own weight in ATP each day
 ..Adenosine-5'-triphosphate
 This conversion of ATP to ADP is an
extremely crucial reaction for the
supplying of energy for life processes.
 Just the breaking of one bond with the
accompanying rearrangement is sufficient
to liberate about 7.3 kilocalories per mole
= 30.6 kJ/mol.
 This is about the same as the energy in a
single peanut!!
 Adenosine-5'-triphosphate
 Living things can use ATP like a battery.

 The ATP can power needed reactions by losing one of its

phosphorous groups to form ADP

 One can use food energy (cellular respiration) in the

mitochondria to convert the ADP back to ATP so that the
energy is again available to do needed work

 In plants, sunlight energy can be used to convert the

less active compound (CO2) and water back to the
highly energetic form ( to starch )
 ..Structure of Adenosine 5’-triphosphate
(ATP)
Energy Currency of the Cell

Figure 9.2- Pyrimidine ring with carbon atoms in a ribose attached to 3 phosphate
group, adenine and an amino group.
 ..Adenosine 5’ triphosphate
 Structure of ATP has a carbon compound as a
backbone
 Part which is really critical is the phosphorous part -
the triphosphate.
 Three phosphorous groups are connected by oxygens
to each other, and there are also side oxygens
connected to the phosphorous atoms.
 Each of these oxygens has a negative charge & the
negative charges repel each other.Highly charged
 These bunched up negative charges, want to escape -
to get away from each other, so there is a lot of
potential energy here.
 The Cell’s Energy Cycle

Figure 9.4 Cell Energy Cycle

 Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
and Electron Carriers
 many metabolic processes involve
oxidation-reduction reactions (electron
transfers)
 electron carriers are often used to transfer
electrons from an electron donor to an
electron acceptor
 Oxidation-Reduction (Redox)
Reactions
can result in energy release, which can be
conserved and used to form ATP
 E.g Acceptor + e- =donor

 The acceptor and the donor makes a couple and

called a redox couple

 In a reversible reaction, the acceptor becomes

the donor until an equilibrium is reached called
Standard Reduction Potential (E0)
 ..REDOX
 The term redox comes from the two concepts
of reduction and oxidation. It can be explained
in simple terms:
 Oxidation describes the loss of electrons /
hydrogen or gain of oxygen

 Reduction describes the gain of electrons /

hydrogen or a loss of oxygen
 …Redox
 This can be either a simple redox process
such as the oxidation of carbon to yield
carbon dioxide or
 the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield
methane (CH4),
 or it can be a complex process such as the
oxidation of sugar in the human body
through a series of very complex electron
transfer processes.
 Standard Reduction Potential
(E0)oxidation-reduction
 Equilibrium constant for an
reaction and is measured in volts (unit of electric
potential)
 Hence redox couples are a potential source of
energy
 A measure of the tendency of the reducing agent to
lose electrons
 Redox couple with more negative E0 (Std reduction
potential)  better electron donor i.e reducing
agent has tendency to lose more electrons
 Redox couple with more positive E0 (Std reduction
potential)  better electron acceptor
 Electron Transport Chains
(ETC)
 Also known as electron transport system
(ETS)
 ETC comprises of electron carriers such as
co-enzymes, NAD ( Nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide), or FAD (Flavin adenine
dinucleotide) and others
 E.g when glucose ( C6 H 12 O 6) is oxidised
during cellular respiration, many electrons
are released and these are accepted by NAD
which is converted/reduced to NADH
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 ..ETC
 During Cellular Respiration:
C6H12O6 + 6O2 ––> 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy
ATP),
NADH transfers electrons to Oxygen via a series
of electron carriers with varying redox
potential (E
( 0) which is organised into a system
called electron transport system.
 Electron Carriers
 NAD
 nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

 NADP
 nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

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 …Electron Carriers

 FAD
 flavin adenine dinucleotide

 FMN
 flavin mononucleotide

Figure 9.8
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 …Electron Carriers

 cytochromes
 use iron to transfer electrons
 iron is part of a heme group

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 …Electron Carriers

 coenzyme Q (CoQ)
a quinone
 also called ubiquinone

Figure 9.9
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 …Electron Carriers
 nonheme iron proteins
 e.g., ferredoxin
 use iron to transport electrons

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 Enzymes
 Enzymes are critically important for cells
to speed up reactions. They act as
catalysts
 catalyst
 substance that increases the rate of a
reaction without being permanently altered
 substrates
 reacting molecules
 products
 substances formed by reaction
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 Enzyme Structure
Many enzymes are composed of only proteins.
However many enzymes are composed an
Apoenzyme which is
 protein component of an enzyme and a
Cofactor
 nonprotein component of an enzyme
 prosthetic
group – firmly attached
 coenzyme – loosely attached

 Holoenzyme is a complete enzyme i.e

Holoenzyme= apoenzyme + cofactor
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 Coenzymes

 Coenzymes
often act as
carriers,
transporting
substances
around the
cell

Figure 9.11- Coenzyme as© aThe carrier

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 The Mechanism of Enzyme
Reactions
a typical exergonic reaction

A + B  AB‡  C + D

transition-state complex –
resembles both the substrates and the
products
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 Activation energy (Ea)– energy required to
form transition-state complex

 enzyme speeds up reaction by lowering Ea

44
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 How Enzymes Lower Activation
energy (Ea)
 by increasing concentrations of substrates
at active site of enzyme
 by orienting substrates properly with
respect to each other in order to form the
transition-state complex

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 Lock and Key Model of Enzyme Function

Figure 9.13 Lock and Key Model of Enzyme Function

46
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 The Effect of Environment on
Enzyme Activity

 Rate of enzyme activity is significantly

impacted by substrate concentration,
pH, and temperature

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 Effect of [substrate]
 rate increases
as [substrate]
increases
 no further
increase occurs
after all enzyme
molecules are
saturated with
substrate
Figure 9.15
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 Effect of pH and Temperature
 Each enzyme has specific pH and
temperature optima
 Denaturation
 loss
of enzyme’s structure and activity when
temperature and pH rise too much above
optima

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 Enzyme Inhibition
Competitive inhibitor
Microorganisms can be poisoned
with enzyme inhibitors/ competitive
inhibitor which directly competes
with binding of substrate to active
site
Noncompetitive inhibitor
–binds enzyme at site other than
active site; changes enzyme’s shape
so that it becomes less active
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 Metabolic Channeling
 Metabolic Channeling-differential localization of
enzymes and metabolites

 compartmentation
 differential distribution of enzymes and metabolites
among separate cell structures or organelles

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 Chemotaxis
 An example of a complex behavior that is
regulated by altering enzyme activity
 system involves a number of enzymes and
other proteins that are regulated by
covalent modification e.g Chemotaxis
response of E. coli

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 Bibliography

 Lecture PowerPoints Prescott’s Principles of

Microbiology-Mc Graw Hill Co.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_metho
d
 https://files.kennesaw.edu/faculty/jhendrix/bi
o3340/home.html
 http://hyperphysics.phy-
astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/biology/atp.html