Harvesting Energy from Food:

Glycolysis and Cellular Respiration

Prepared by:
Maridol R. Gregorio
Glucose Metabolism: An Overview
 During photosynthesis, photosynthetic
organisms harvest and store the energy of
sunlight in glucose
 During glucose breakdown, the energy is
released and converted to ATP
Complete Glucose Metabolism

C6H12O6 + 6 O2 --6 CO2 + 6 H2O +

energy
 Glucose metabolism occurs in 3 steps:

 Glycolysis
 Kreb’s Cycle
 Electron Transport Chain and
Chemiosmosis
What is cellular respiration?

 It is a series of reactions in which the

pyruvic acid produced by glycolysis is
broken down to carbon dioxide and
water and large amounts of ATP are
produced.
 The final reactions of cellular respiration
require oxygen because oxygen acts as
the final acceptor of electrons
Glycolysis
 In Greek it means “to break apart a sweet”
 It is a complex sequence of reactions in
the cytosol of a cell in which a molecule of
glucose is broken down into 2 molecules
of pyruvic acid
 During these reactions, 2 ATP molecules
and 2 NADH electron carriers are formed
 Glycolysis: A Closer Look
1. A glucose molecule is energized by the addition
of a high energy phosphate from ATP
2. The molecule is slightly rearranged.
3. Then a second phosphate is added from another
ATP.
4. The resulting molecule of fructose-1,6-
diphosphate is split into three-carbon molecules,
one DHAP (dihydroxyacetone phosphate) and one
PGAL (phosphoglyceraldehyde). Each has one
phosphate attached
5. DHAP rearranges into PGAL, so from now on
there are two molecules of PGAL going through
the identical reactions.
6. Each PGAL undergoes two almost simultaneous
reactions. Two electrons and a hydrogen ion are
donated to NAD+ to make the energized carrier NADH,
and an inorganic phosphate (P) is attached to the
carbon skeleton with a high-energy bond. The resulting
molecules of 1,3-diphosphoglyceric acid have two high
energy phosphates.
7. One phosphate from each diphosphoglyceric acid is
transferred to ADP to form ATP, for a net of two ATPs.
This transfer compensates for the initial two ATPs used
in glucose activation.
8. After another rearrangement, the second phosphate
from each phosphoenolpyruvic acid is transferred to
ADP to form ATP, leaving pyruvic acid as the final
product of glycolysis. There is a net profit of two ATPs
from each glucose molecule
Aerobic & Anaerobic Respiration
 In the absence of oxygen, pyruvic acid acts
as the electron acceptor during
fermentation, producing molecules (ethanol
or lactic acid) that the cell cannot use. This
process is considered anaerobic respiration.
 In aerobic respiration, oxygen becomes the
electron acceptor, allowing the pyruvic acid
to be fully broken down and its energy
harvested as ATP.
Fermentation
 A sprinter at the end of a race. The runner’s
respiratory and circulatory systems cannot
supply oxygen to her leg muscles fast enough to
keep up with the demand for energy, so
glycolysis and lactic acid fermentation must
provide the energy. Panting after the race brings
in the oxygen needed to remove the lactic acid
through cellular respiration.
 Champagne spurts out of a newly opened bottle,
driven out by CO2 formed by fermenting yeast
and trapped in the bottle by the cork
 Anaerobic Respiration- requires no
oxygen

(1) Yeast (alcoholic fermentation). During alcoholic

fermentation, two molecules of ATP are produced for
every molecule of glucose used.

glucose → 2ethanol + 2CO2 (g) +2 ATP

(2) Muscle (lactate fermentation). During lactate

fermentation, 2 molecules of ATP are produced for
every molecule of glucose used.

glucose → 2 lactate + 2ATP

 Krebs Cycle – also called Citric Acid Cycle

 Occurs in the matrix of the mitochondrion

 Synthesis of Acetyl CoA produces 1 CO
2
and 1 NADH per pyruvic acid
 The citric acid cycle produces 2 CO , 1 ATP,
2
3 NADH, 1 FADH2 per acetyl CoA
 Therefore at the end of the matrix
reactions, the 2 PA produced from a single
glucose molecule have been completely
broken down by adding oxygen to form 6
CO2 molecules
 In the process, 2 ATPs, 8 NADH, & 2 FADH
2
electron carriers have been produced
 Cellularrespiration occurs in the
mitochondria
 A mitochondrion has 2 membranes that
produce 2 compartments: an inner
compartment enclosed by the inner
membrane and containing the fluid
matrix, and an intermembrane
compartment between the 2
membranes
Mitochondrial Matrix Reactions:
A Closer Look:
 First Stage: Formation of Acetyl Coenzyme A
1. Pyruvic acid is split to CO2 and an acetyl
group.
2. The acetyl group attaches to coenzyme A to
form acetyl CoA.
3. Simultaneously, NAD+ receives two electrons
and a hydrogen ion to make NADH.
4. The acetyl CoA enters the second stage of
the matrix reactions.
 Second Stage: The Citric Acid Cycle

1. Acetyl CoA donates its acetyl group to oxaloacetic

acid to make citic acid.
2. Citric acid is rearranged to form isocitric acid.
3. Isocitric acid loses carbon to CO2, forming
isoketoglutaric acid; NADH is formed from NAD +.
4. Isoketoglutaric acid loses a carbon to CO 2, forming
succinic acid; NADH is formed from NAD+ and
additional energy is stored in ATP. BY this point, two
molecules of CO2 have been given off. (These two CO2
molecules, along with the one that was released
during the formation of Acetyl CoA, account for the
three carbons of the original pyruvic acid.)
5. Succinic acid is converted to fumaric acid, and the
electron carrier FAD is charged up to FADH2.
6. Fumaric acid is converted to malic acid.
7. Malic acid is converted to oxaloacetic acid and NADH
is formed from NAD+
Citric Acid cycle: Summary
 The citric acid cycle produces 3 molecules
of CO2, 3 molecules of NADH, one FADH2,
and 1 ATP per acetyl CoA
 NADH and FADH2 will donate their
electrons to the electron transport system
of the inner membrane, where the energy
of the electrons will be used to synthesize
ATP by chemiosmosis
 The electron transport system of mitochondria
(Chemiosmosis – the mechanism of ATP synthesis)

 ATP synthesis in mitochondria is similar to the process

of chemiosmosis in chloroplasts
 The inner membrane of a mitochondrion has an
electron transport system that functions similar to the
one in the thylakoids.
 The intermembrane compartment between the outer
and inner membranes of a mitochondrion is analogous
to the interior of a thylakoid.
 The electron carrier molecules NADH and FADH2 deposit
their energetic electrons with the carriers of the
transport system located in the inner membrane
 The electrons move from carrier to carrier within the
transport system. Some of their energy is used to
pump hydrogen ions across the inner membrane from
the matrix into the intermembrane compartment
 This pumping process increases the H+ concentration
in the intermembrane compartment and decreases
the H+ concentration in the matrix; therefore a H+
gradient is produced across the inner membrane. Like
the thylakoid membrane of the chloroplast, the inner
membrane of the mitochondrion is permeable to H+
only at the pores that are coupled with ATP-
synthesizing enzymes
 This movement out of the inner compartment creates
a hydrogen ion gradient that can be used to drive 32
to 34 molecules of ATP
 At the end of the electron transport system, the 2
energy-depleted electrons combine with 1 oxygen and
2 hydrogen ions in the matrix to form water
Process Location Reactions Electron ATP
carriers Yield
Glycolysis Cytosol Glucose broken 2 NADH 2 ATP
down to PA
Acetyl CoA Matrix of Each PA combined 2 NADH
formation Mitochondrion w/ CoA to form
acetyl CoA & CO2

Citric Acid Matrix of Acetyl group of 6 NADH 2 ATP

Cycle Mitochondrion acetyl CoA 2 FADH2
metabolized to 2
CO2
Electron Inner Energy of e- from 32-34 ATP*
transport membrane, NADH and FADH2
intermembrane used to pump H+
compartment into intermem comp,
H+ gradient used to
synthesize ATP; 3
ATP/NADH,
2ATP/FADH2
 Glycolysis produces 2 NADH molecules in the
cytosol of the cell. Unlike the NADH and FADH2
molecules generated in the matrix of the
mitochondrion, the electrons from these 2 NADH
molecules must be transported into the matrix
before they can enter the ETC of the inner
membrane.
 In most eukaryotic cells, the energy of 1 ATP
molecule is used to transport the electrons from 1
NADH molecule into the matrix. Thus, the 2
“glycolytic NADH” molecules net only 2 ATPs, not
the usual 3 during the electron transport
 The heart and liver cells of mammals, however, use
a different transport system, one that does not
consume ATP. In these cells, then, the “glycolytic
NADH” molecules net 3 ATPs apiece, just as the
“mitochondrial NADH” molecules do.
Thank you for listening…