Metabolism of the Cell

Energy Production
 Metabolism
• Refers to “all chemical reactions necessary to
maintain life”.
• Anabolic processes (anabolism) build from
smaller molecules
– for example, building of proteins from amino acids
– anabolic processes generally require energy input
• Catabolic processes (catabolism) break down
larger molecules into smaller ones.
– for example, breakdown of glucose into carbon dioxide
and water
– catabolic processes generally release energy
 Cellular Respiration
• Describes the series of reactions that break
down glucose to release ATP.
• Includes glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and
oxidative phosphorylation within the
electron transport system.
 Major Stages of Metabolism
I. Glycolysis
II. Krebs Cycle (a.k.a., tricarboxylic acid
cycle, TCA cycle, citric acid cycle)
III.Oxidative Phosphorylation
Electron Transport System and Chemiosmosis
• Digestion, the breakdown of food into
usable molecules such as glucose, is
required before metabolism can occur
 Metabolism Terms
• ATP – Adenosine triphosphate - simplest storage
form of cellular energy
• Glucose – main substrate for ATP production; a
monosaccharide (simple sugar).
• NAD+ – coenzyme that accepts hydrogen; derived
from niacin
– NADH (more accurately – NADH+H+) reduced form of the
coenzyme; includes two additional electrons and one
hydrogen.
• FAD+ – another coenzyme that accepts hydrogen;
derived from riboflavin.
– FADH2 – reduced form including two hydrogens and their
electrons
 Metabolism Terms(cont.)
• Oxidation - reactions within cellular respiration
that occurs due to a loss of electrons (usually seen
as hydrogen) or a gain in oxygen.
• Oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions – coupled
reactions in which one substance donates (loses)
electrons (i.e., is oxidized) and another then gains
those electrons (i.e., is reduced).
• Reduction – reaction in which a substrate gains
electrons (usually seen as hydrogen)
 Metabolism Terms(cont.)
• Phosphorylation – addition of phosphate group to
a molecule resulting in addition of energy to the
molecule; e.g., ADP + Pi ATP
– substrate-level phosphorylation – direct transfer from
one molecule to another
• e.g., bisphophoglycerate + ADP  ATP +
phosphoglycerate
– moves phosphate from bisphosphoglycerate
(which has 2 phosphates) to ADP to make ATP
and phosphoglycerate (which has one
phosphate)
– oxidative phosphorylation – more complex method of
ATP production involving electron transport chain
(series of redox reactions)
Glycolysis
 Glycolysis
• Breakdown of glucose into pyruvic acid
– Glucose comes from the food that we eat
• Occurs in the cytoplasm of the cells
• Results in a net production of 2 ATP and 2
reduced electron carriers (NADH)
 Glycolysis - Overview

3 Phases:
• sugar activation
• sugar cleavage
• sugar oxidation
and formation
of ATP
Fig. 25.6, p. 966
 Phase 1 – Sugar Activation

Glucose (6-carbon) gains

phosphate (and energy)
from each of two (2) ATP
molecules and becomes an
unstable 6-carbon molecule
(fructose-1,6-diphosphate)

• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

becomes adenosine diphosphate
(ADP) Fig. 25.6, p. 966
 Phase Two – Sugar Cleavage

DHAP
G3P

Unstable 6-carbon
molecule, (fructose-1,6-
diphosphate), is broken
into 2 3-carbon molecules
(DHAP and G3P)
• no additional energy
required
Fig. 25.6, p. 966
Phase Three – Sugar Oxidation

2 3-carbon molecules (DHAP

and G3P) are each oxidized
resulting in release of energy
used to make 4 ATP (2 from
each) and formation of 2
pyruvate (1 from each)

• ATP produced by substrate-

level phosphorylation Fig. 25.6, p. 966
Phase Three – Sugar Oxidation (con’t)
• oxidation of these 2 3-carbon molecules (DHAP
and G3P) also results in formation of 2 molecules
of NADH (one from each 3-carbon molecule), the
energy from which will be used in the
mitochondria during oxidative phosphorylation
• when oxygen is present, pyruvate diffuses into the
mitochondria for the next steps of cellular
respiration
• when oxygen is not present, pyruvate is reduced
using the NADH and becomes lactic acid
 Glycolysis Energy Summary
• Net ATP production = 2
– 4 produced – 2 used
• two (2) ATP are utilized in phase 1, so 2 are
subtracted from the total produced
• 2 NADH produced total (one per G3P)
– will be used in electron transport chain /
oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria
when oxygen is present
 From Glycolysis to Krebs
• Pyruvate created in glycolysis diffuses from
the cell cytoplasm into the matrix of the
mitochondria to be further broken down
• Going from glycolysis to Krebs involves an
intermediate step in which pyruvate is
reduced and reworked into a 2-carbon
molecule called acetyl-CoA by removing
one CO2 group and addition coenzyme A;
this also produces 1 molecule of NADH for
each pyruvate
Krebs Cycle
 Krebs Cycle
• Begins when the acetyl group of acetyl-
CoA combines with oxaloacetate (4-carbon
molecule) to form citrate (6-carbon
molecule) and release the CoA.
• Remaining reactions involve oxidizing the
molecule and regenerating oxaloacetate
– reactions also produce carbon dioxide (CO2),
which will be released from the cell; reduced
electron carriers, which will be used in the next
stage; and GTP, which can be used to produce
an equivalent amount of ATP
Fig. 25.7, p. 968
Krebs Cycle (con’t)

• Each citrate is
rearranged during
this cycle to
produce two (2)
CO2 molecules,
three (3) NADH,
one (1) FADH2,
and one (1) ATP.

Fig. 25.7, p. 968

 Acetyl-CoA and Krebs Cycle
Energy Summary
• ATP Production – One (1) per cycle of
Krebs.
• NADH Production
– one (1) NADH created with the formation of
Acetyl CoA
– three (3) NADH created during Krebs cycle
• FADH2 Production – One per cycle of
Krebs
• REMEMBER: Krebs goes through 2 times
for each glucose that started the process
 Acetyl-CoA and Krebs Cycle
Energy Summary
• REMEMBER: Krebs goes through 2 times
for each glucose that started the process,
therefore, the total is:
– 2 ATP created during the Krebs cycle
– 2 NADH created with the formation of Acetyl
CoA
– 6 NADH created during Krebs cycle
– 2 FADH2 created during Krebs cycle
 Total Energy Summary,
Through Krebs Cycle
From one (1) molecule of glucose:
• 4 ATP – 2 (Glycolysis) + 2 (Krebs)
• 10 NADH – 2 (Glycolysis) + 2 (Acetyl
CoA formation) + 6 (Krebs)
• 2 FADH2 – 2 (Krebs)
 Oxidative
Phosphorylation
Electron Transport System (ETS)
and Chemiosmosis
 Electron Transport System
• Utilizes the NADH and FADH2 produced in
Glycolysis and Krebs.
• Occurs in the inner membrane of the
mitochondria.
• Cannot occur without oxygen
 Electron Transport System
Step 1
Molecules within
the inner
membrane of the
mitochondria take
the two (2)
electrons from
NADH and the two
(2) from FADH2
and pass them from
one to another.
(i.e., redox
reactions)

Fig. 25.8, p. 969

 Electron Transport System
Step 2
• The transfer of electrons moves hydrogen atoms (H+) into the
intermembrane compartment of the mitochondrion.

Fig.
Fig.
25.8,
25.8,
p. p.
969969
 Electron Transport System
Step 3
• When enough H+ atoms collect in the compartment, they travel down their concentration
gradient into the mitochrondrial matrix in a process called chemiosmosis.
• Movement occurs through ATP synthase enzyme that uses the energy of H+ movement
to create ATP from ADP

Fig. 25.8, p. 969

 Electron Transport System
Step 4
• Once the electrons have moved to the end of the
molecules in this chain, two(2) electrons combine
with one (1) oxygen atom (formed from the
breakdown of molecular oxygen, or O2) and two
(2) hydrogen atoms to make water.
• Oxygen is a KEY component to this process.
– If oxygen is not present to combine and make water,
then the electron transport system backs up, no H+
atoms are released and ATP cannot form.
– Krebs cycle cannot be run because NAD and FAD are
not regenerated
 Electron Transport System
ATP Totals
• Each pair of H+ moved results in formation of 1
ATP
• ATP from NADH – each NADH moves 3 pairs of
H+:
– 6 NADH from Krebs  18 ATP
– 2 NADH from Acetyl CoA  6 ATP
– 2 NADH from Glycolysis  6 ATP
• BUT there is a cost to move the NADH in from the
cytoplasm at 1 ATP each, so the net total in most cells is
4 ATP.
• This loss DOES NOT OCCUR IN HEART CELLS OR
LIVER CELLS. In these cells movement is more
efficient, and the ATP production is 6 ATP!
 Electron Transport System ATP
Totals
• ATP from FADH2
– FADH2 transfers its H+ pairs at a different point,
resulting in only 2 ATP per molecule
– 2 FADH2 from Krebs  4 ATP.
• Total ATP:
– ATP from NADH = 18 + 6 + (4 or 6) = 28 (or 30)
– ATP from FADH2 = 4
– TOTAL from ETS = 32 (or 34) ATP
 Total ATP Production through
the Entire System
2 ATP (Glycolysis) + 2 ATP (Krebs) + 32-34 ATP (from ETS) = 36-38 ATP

Fig. 25.10, p. 972