Metabolism: An Introduction

Totality of an organism’s processes

• Molecular interactions make this an emergent
property
• Concerned with managing cellular material and
energy
• Anabolic Pathways
• Catabolic Pathways
• These Anabolic/Catabolic reactions can be coupled
so that energy released from a catabolic rx can
drive an anabolic rx.
Catabolic Pathways

RELEASE ENERGY by breaking down complex

molecules to simpler ones
ANABOLIC PATHWAYS

CONSUME ENERGY to build complicated molecules

from simpler ones
Organisms Transform Energy

• Energy: Capacity to do work

• Kinetic Energy: Energy in the process of doing work
(energy of motion) ex.:Light,Thermal.
• Potential Energy: Energy of position (energy due to
arrangement or location). Ex.:Rock on hill, chemical
energy
• ENERGY CAN BE TRANSFORMED FROM ONE FORM
TO ANOTHER. Ex: Gas-motion
Energy Transformations and
Thermodynamics
• Thermodynamics: The study of energy transformations
• First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy can’t be created
or destroyed, only transferred or transformed
• Second Law of Thermodynamics: Every energy transfer
increases ENTROPY
• Entropy: Quantitative measure of disorder
(proportional to randomness)
More Thermodynamics Vocab.

Closed System: Collection Open System: A system

of matter being studied in which energy can be
which is isolated from transferred from the
the surroundings system and its
surroundings
ENTROPY

• The entropy of a system may DECREASE, but the

entropy of the system plus its surroundings must
always INCREASE.
Animals:
• Maintain highly ordered structure at the expense of
their surroundings
• Take in complex high energy molecules as food and
extract energy in order to create and maintain order
• Return simple low energy molecules and heat to
surroundings
FREE ENERGY

The amount of energy that is available to do work

• Free Energy:G
• Total Energy or Enthalpy: H
• Temperature in Kelvin Degrees: T
• Entropy: S
Free energy is the difference between the total
energy and the energy NOT available to do work.
Gibbs-Heimholtz equation:

G =
H- T S
Significance of Free Energy
• Indicates a maximum amount of a system’s energy
which is available to do work
• Indicates whether a reaction will occur spontaneously
or not
• A spontaneous reaction is one that will occur without
any additional energy
• The change in Free energy of a system DECREASES in
a spontaneous reaction.
• A decrease in enthalpy (or total energy) or a n
increase in entropy reduce the free energy, and make
a spontaneous more likely
• Increased Temperature favors spontaneity
• These reactions tend toward a more stable state
Free Energy and Equilibrium

There is a relationship between chemical equilibrium and free energy

change
• As the reaction approaches equilibrium, the free energy decreases
• As a reaction is pushed away from equilibrium, free energy increases.
• AT equilibrium, there is no net change in the system (0 change in free
energy)
Free Energy and Metabolism
EXERGONIC REACTIONS: A
reaction with a net LOSS of
free energy
• Spontaneous
• The change in Free energy
(downhill) is the max.
amount of work the Rx can
do
• Products have less free
energy than rectants
ENDERGONIC REACTIONS:
An energy requiring
reaction that occurs with a
net GAIN of free energy
• Absorbs energy
• Products store more free
energy
• Non-spontaneous
• The change in free energy
(uphill) is the min. amount
of energy required to drive
the rx
What the………..(O.K., here’s some examples)

• Burning (oxidation) of one mole of glucose: EXERGONIC and releases

686 Kcal/mol. Actually Free energy is said to be NEGATIVE or-
686Kcal/mol.

• Production of 1 mole of glucose is ENDERGONIC and requires the

energy input of +686Kcal/mole
Energy Units

• Joule(J): .239 calorie

• Kilojoule(kJ): 1000J or .239 Kcal
• Calorie(cal): 4.184J
 Metabolism
• The totality of an organism’s chemical reactions.
• Metabolic Pathway: begins w/ a specific molecule, it is modified by enzymes
until the end product is created
• Catabolic: breaking down (degradative)
• C6H12O6 + 6O2  6CO2 + 6 H2O + energy (ATP + heat)
• Anabolic: Consume energy (build materials)
• synthesis of protein from amino acids

Enzyme 1 Enzyme 2 Enzyme 3

A B C D
Reaction 1 Reaction 2 Reaction 3
Starting Product
molecule
 Forms of Energy
• Potential: energy of position or
structure
• Chemical energy: stored in
• Kinetic: movement perform chemical bonds
work, by moving matter
– Heat or thermal energy: random
movement of particles KMT
• Light energy
• Energy animation.swf
• Energy changed to heat is not
usable (to do work) by living
organisms

http://www.greenscreen.org/articles_sr/energy/images_potential_kinetic_energy/potential_kinetic.jpg
 Thermodynamics
• 2nd Law
• 1st Law • Every E transfer or transformation
• E can be transferred and increases the entropy (randomness) of
transformed but neither created the universe
nor destroyed • Energy lost as heat is only usable if it is
• Photosynthesis and eating are huge warming the organism, most goes to
energy transfers! waste
• Living systems increase entropy of
surroundings

1st Law 2nd Law

Free Energy

• Enthalpy: Change in energy in a system

• Entropy: Measure of disorder of a system
• Free Energy (G): Energy available to do work
• Random molecular motion (heat) can’t be recovered to do work = NOT
USEFUL
• Enthalpy –Temp (change in entropy)
• - G is spontaneous, increases entropy of the universe
• +G is non spontaneous, decreases entropy of universe (requires input of
energy)
 Free Energy: ΔG = ΔH- TΔS
Free energy = enthalpy (total energy) change- temperature x entropy
change
• - ΔG are spontaneous, is
exergonic: cellular respiration
• + ΔG are endergonic:
photosynthesis
• ΔG = ΔGfinal – ΔGinitial a
negative result is spontaneous
since less free energy exists
in the products!
• Reaching equilibrium means
death, no work being done

http://iws.collin.edu/biopage/faculty/mcculloch/1406/outlines/chapter%206/Ra74.JPG
Biological sources of Free Energy

• ATP
• ATP is a high-energy molecule: when
it breaks down into adenosine
diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic
phosphate (Pi), it releases free energy
that can be used to drive biological
processes
• Proton Motive Force
• Movement of H+ ions across a
membrane creating an
electrochemical gradient
 Cellular work
• Mechanical work – movement (Cilia
& Flagella)
• Transport work – molecules across
membranes against concentration 9 + 2 Microtubule arrangement
gradients
• Chemical work – endergonic chemical
reactions
• Cells use exergonic reactions to drive
endergonic reactions

Na+/K+
pump

Photosynthesis
 ATP Structure
• Ribose sugar bonded to adenine w/ 3 phosphates attached to the sugar
• Phosphates can be broken off by hydrolysis
• Phosphorylation: The inorganic phosphate is then transferred to other
molecules (changes the reactivity of the other molecule). ENERGY is
released
• ΔG = -7.3 Kcal/mol ATP + H20  ADP + Pi

Adenine

Phosphate groups
Ribose
Fig. 8-10
NH2

NH3 ∆G = +3.4 kcal/mol

Glu
+
Glu
Glutamic Ammonia Glutamine
acid
(a) Endergonic reaction

1 ATP phosphorylates P
glutamic acid, + ATP + ADP
Glu Glu
making the amino
acid less stable.
NH2

P
2 Ammonia displaces NH3
the phosphate group, + + Pi
Glu Glu
forming glutamine.

(b) Coupled with ATP hydrolysis, an exergonic reaction

(c) Overall free-energy change

 ATP Cycle & Regeneration of ATP from
ADP

The E to rephosphorylate ADP to

become ATP comes from the
cell’s catabolic reactions.
ΔG = + 7.3 kcal/mol

ATP H2O

http://library.thinkquest.org/C006669/media/Biol/img/
atp_cycle.gif

Energy from Energy for cellular

catabolism (exergonic, work (endergonic,
energy-releasing ADP + P i energy-consuming
processes) processes)
 Enzymes:
• Enzymes: Speed up reactions that
happen anyway: CATALYST
Course of
• Enzymes are: Proteins, usually end in reaction
without EA
ase: sucrase, lactase, catalase, pepsin enzyme
(huh?) without
enzyme
• Enzymes: Lower activation energy, EA with
enzyme
The E necessary to start a rxn is lower

• Enzymes: DO NOT change the ΔG Reactants

Free energy
Course of ∆G is unaffected
reaction by enzyme
with enzyme

Products

Progress of the reaction

Figure 8.15
 Enzymes & Substrates

Substrate: Molecule that enzyme acts on

Enzyme-substrate complex: Enzyme bound to the reactant it works on
Active Site: Area on the enzyme where the substrate binds
Induced Fit: The enzyme changes shape to hold the substrate with weak bonds (H
bonds or Ionic bonds)
How it works:
1.Template to bring substrates together
2.“stretches” substrate and stresses its bonds
3.Changes environmental conditions of substrate
Conditions that affect Enzyme Activity
• pH: pH’s that are too high or too low denature the protein (enzyme),
most work in pH of 6-8 (pepsin is an exception in stomach pH of 2)
• Temperature: Enzymes have an optimal temperature, above this the
protein denatures
• Cofactors: inorganic substance bound to enzyme for enzyme to work
• Coenzyme: organic molecule required for enzyme to function
 Enzyme Inhibition

• Competitive Inhibition:
• Bonds to active site, prevents substrate
from binding
• Reversible: mimic substrate
• Irreversible: CO + hemoglobin
• Noncompetitieve Inhibitors
• bind to enzymes and change the
conformation of the active site so a
substrate can no longer bind.

http://www.yellowtang.org/images/competitive_inhibit_c_la_784.jpg
Allosteric Regulation
• Allosteric regulation occurs when a regulatory molecule binds to
a protein at one site and affects the protein’s function at another
site
 Enzyme Regulation
• Feed back inhibition – turns off a • http://www.life.illinois.edu/bio100/lectures/s97lects/16GeneControl/lac_o
metabolic pathway when enough peron_ind.GIF

product has accumulated

• Products act as allosteric inhibitors
when in excess.
• When the products are used up
the enzyme is no longer inhibited
and free to catalyze more
reactions.