ATP-ADP Cycle
PREPARED BY:
LENOR M. TUNA C
This presents the importance of ATP-ADP cycle in the
formation of energy during photosynthesis and
describes the role of the chloroplast, chlorophyll and
other pigments and light intensities on photosynthesis.
Content Standard:
The learner demonstrates understanding of ATP-ADP Cycle and Photosynthesis
Performance Standard:
The learners should be able to prepare a simple fermentation setup using common fruits
to produce wine or vinegar via microorganisms
Most Essential Learning Competencies:
1. Explain coupled reaction processes and describe the role of ATP in energy coupling
and transfer (STEM_BIO11/12-Ila-j-1)
2. Explain the importance of chlorophyll and other pigments (STEM_BIO11/12-Ila-j-3)
Directions: Read each question carefully and choose the letter of the correct answer. Write the
chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.
1. What is the main energy molecule used by our cells to power work?
A. ADP B. AMP C. ATP D. A and B
2. How do you call the processes of ATP generation in the cytoplasm and in the mitochondria?
A. phosphorylation
B. glycolysis; Kreb’s cycle
C. oxidative level phosphorylation; substrate level phosphorylation with chemiosmosis.
D. substrate level phosphorylation; oxidative phosphorylation with chemiosmosis.
3. Which of the following are components of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)?
A. Ribose, a cytosine base, and a triphosphate group
B. Ribose, an adenine base, and a triphosphate group
C. Deoxyribose, a cytosine base, and a triphosphate group
D. Deoxyribose, an adenine base, and a triphosphate group
4. A scientist hydrolyzes ATP in a laboratory test tube. He finds that about 3 times as much
heat is released than when the same amount of ATP is hydrolyzed in a cell. What best
explains the scientist's observation?
A. Cells are less efficient at producing heat.
B. Enzymes in cells use heat energy to catalyze reactions.
C. ATP hydrolysis in a cell makes different products than in a test tube.
D. Cells often convert some of the energy from ATP hydrolysis into other usable forms.
5. What occurs when a phosphate-phosphate bond in an ATP molecule is broken?
A. Energy is released in a cell.
B. Light energy is absorbed by chloroplasts.
C. Water is transported through the cell membrane.
D. Lysosomes release their contents into the cytoplasm.
What makes us function? What makes us work?
All biological activities like growth, reproduction, feeding, breathing,
locomotion performed by living things require a constant source of
energy. The ultimate source of energy for all organisms is food; through
photosynthesis, plants convert the light energy from sun into food
stored in the form of chemical energy. During the complex processes of
respiration, food is broken down, energy is liberated, and ATP is
generated in the mitochondria.
Energy becomes available in the form of energy-rich molecule called
adenosine triphosphate or ATP. This molecule drives all metabolic
activities in plants and animals.
energy plant transforms thermal energy from deep in the ground into
electrical energy that will be transported to homes and factories. Energy
transformation also happens among organisms.
Plants and animals metabolize. They do anabolic and catabolic reaction,
respectively. Like a generating plant, they also must take in energy from
the environment and convert it into a form that their cells can use. Energy
enters the organism’s body in one form and it is converted into another
form that can fuel the organism’s life functions. It is an open system.
Plants and other photosynthetic producers take in energy in the form of
light (solar energy) and convert it into chemical energy, glucose, which
stores this energy in its chemical bonds. This happens during
photosynthesis.
Then, a series of metabolic pathways, collectively called cellular
respiration, extracts the energy from the bonds in glucose and converts it
into a form that all living things can useboth producers, such as plants,
and consumers, such as animals.
Review this illustration of a food chain. What happens in each level of
Energy Flow and Chemical Recycling in Ecosystems
Energy flows into ecosystem as sunlight; photosynthesis converts light
energy into chemical energy; cells transfer light energy into chemical
energy; cells transfer chemical energy between molecules in chemical
reactions and convert chemical energy to kinetic energy. At every step
along the way, energy is lost to surroundings as heat, while the chemical
elements essential to life are recycled. All these happen during
metabolism. In a catabolic pathway, energy is released and will be used,
enabling energy to be stored. Anabolism uses energy to build complex
materials. Plants undergo endergonic reaction where energy is absorbed.
Plants store energy in the form of glucose (from carbon dioxide and
water). In exergonic reactions, energy is released. There is more
decrease in free energy hence more work is done. Free energy is
energy that is available to do work.
The metabolism of sugar (a simple carbohydrate) is a classic example of
the many cellular processes that use and produce energy. Living things
consume sugar as a major energy source, because sugar molecules
have a great deal of energy stored within their bonds. The breakdown of
glucose, a simple sugar, is described by the equation:
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy
Carbohydrates that are consumed have their origins in photosynthesizing
organisms like plants. During photosynthesis, plants use the energy of
sunlight to convert carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into sugar molecules, like
glucose (C6H12O6). Because this process involves synthesizing a larger,
energy-storing molecule, it requires an input of energy to proceed. The
synthesis of glucose is described by this equation (notice that it is the
reverse of the previous equation):
6CO2 + 6H2O + energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the energy currency of the cell. It powers
cellular work. ATP provides the energy for both energy-consuming
endergonic reactions and energy-releasing exergonic reactions.
ATP consists of sugar ribose, nitrogen base adenine and a chain of three
phosphate groups. The three phosphate groups, in order of closest to
furthest from the ribose sugar, are labeled alpha, beta, and gamma. At the
heart of ATP is a molecule of adenosine monophosphate (AMP), which is
composed of an adenine molecule bonded to a ribose molecule and to a
single phosphate group. The addition of a second phosphate group to this
core molecule results in the formation of adenosine diphosphate (ADP);
the addition of a third phosphate group forms adenosine triphosphate
(ATP).
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) has three phosphate groups that
can be removed by hydrolysis to form ADP (adenosine
diphosphate) or AMP (adenosine monophosphate). When the
chemical bonds within ATP are broken, energy is released and
can be harnessed for cellular work. The energy is used to do
work by the cell, usually by the released phosphate binding to
another molecule, activating it. ATP powers cellular process
ranging from DNA replication to protein synthesis. ATP also
mediates most energy coupling in cells.
There are three kinds of work a cell does that need ATP
Cells do three main kinds of work such as 1) chemical work:
synthesis of polymers from monomers (pushing of endergonic
reactions); 2) transport work: pumping of substances across
membranes (against the direction of spontaneous movement) and
3) mechanical work: beating of cilia, contraction of muscles. The
mechanical work of muscle contraction, ATP supplies the energy to
move the contractile muscle proteins. In the active transport work of
the sodium-potassium pump in cell membranes. ATP alters the
structure of the integral protein that functions as the pump, changing
its affinity for sodium and potassium. In this way, the cell performs
work, pumping ions against their electrochemical gradients.
Figure 3. How ATP powers
cellular work.
In chemical work, the phosphorylation of reactant molecules
drives the endergonic synthesis of product molecules.
In mechanical work, the transfer of phosphate group to special
motor proteins in muscle cells causes the proteins to change
shape and pull actin filaments, causing the cell to contract.
ATP drives transport work by phosphorylating certain
membrane proteins.
ATP Hydrolysis and Synthesis
Hydrolysis is the process of breaking complex macromolecules apart.
ATP is broken down into ADP and Pi is called hydrolysis because it
consumes a water molecule (hydro-meaning “water”, and lysis, meaning
“separation”).
During hydrolysis, water is split, or lysed, and the resulting hydrogen atom
(H+) and a hydroxyl group (OH-) are added to the larger molecule. The
hydrolysis of ATP produces ADP, together with an inorganic
phosphate ion (Pi), and the release of free energy. To carry out life
processes, ATP is continuously broken down into ADP, and like a
rechargeable battery, ADP is continuously regenerated into ATP by the
reattachment of a third phosphate group.
ATP is hydrolyzed into ADP in the following reaction:
ATP + H2O→ ADP + Pi + free energy
ADP is combined with a phosphate to form ATP in the following
reaction:
ADP+ Pi+ free energy→ ATP + H2O
Like most chemical reactions, the hydrolysis of ATP to ADP is
reversible.
The reverse reaction combines ADP + Pi to regenerate ATP
from ADP. Since ATP hydrolysis releases energy, ATP
synthesis must require an input of free energy.
Figure. 4 The Structure and Hydrolysis of ATP
ATP and Energy Coupling
Cells couple the exergonic reaction of ATP hydrolysis with the endergonic reactions of
cellular processes. This means that during ATP hydrolysis, energy is released
(exergonic) to provide energy (endergonic) for cellular processes to take place. Cells
use a strategy called energy coupling to harness the energy within the bonds of ATP.
For example, transmembrane ion pumps in nerve cells use the energy from ATP to
pump ions across the cell membrane and generate an action potential. The sodium-
potassium pump (Na+/K+ pump) drives sodium out of the cell and potassium into the
cell. When ATP is hydrolyzed, it transfers its gamma phosphate to the pump protein in a
process called phosphorylation. The Na+/K+ pump gains the free energy and undergoes
a conformational change, allowing it to release three Na+ to the outside of the cell. Two
extracellular K+ ions bind to the protein, causing the protein to change shape again and
discharge the phosphate. By donating free energy to the Na+/K+ pump, phosphorylation
drives the endergonic reaction.
Energy Coupling in Metabolism
During cellular metabolic reactions, or the synthesis and breakdown of
nutrients, certain molecules change their conformation to become
substrates for the next step in the reaction series. For example, glucose
during glycolysis is phosphorylated by ATP creating a high-energy but
unstable intermediate. This phosphorylation reaction causes a
conformational change that allows enzymes to convert the
phosphorylated glucose molecule to the phosphorylated sugar fructose.
Fructose is a necessary intermediate for glycolysis to move forward. In
this example, the exergonic reaction of ATP hydrolysis is coupled with the
endergonic reaction of converting glucose for use in the metabolic
pathway. Only 39% of the chemical energy of glucose is transformed into
ATP; 61% is lost as heat.
Phosphorylation
The two processes of ATP regeneration during glucose
catabolism are substrate-level phosphorylation and oxidative
phosphorylation through the process of chemiosmosis.
A phosphate group is removed from an intermediate reactant in
the pathway, and the free energy of the reaction is used to add
the third phosphate to an available ADP molecule, producing
ATP (Figure 6). This very direct method of phosphorylation is
called substrate-level phosphorylation. When ATP is used in a
reaction, the third phosphate is temporarily attached to a
substrate in a process called phosphorylation.
Figure 6. In phosphorylation reactions, the gamma
phosphate of ATP is attached to protein
On the other hand, oxidative phosphorylation refers to the ATP production in the
mitochondria in eukaryotic cells and in the plasma membrane among prokaryotes
through glucose catabolism or from a much more complex process called
chemiosmosis. Oxygen is utilized during the process. Chemiosmosis, a process of ATP
production in cellular metabolism, is used to generate 90 percent of the ATP made
during glucose catabolism and is also the method used in the light reactions of
photosynthesis to harness the energy of sunlight.
Work can be sustained because ATP is a renewable resource
that cells regenerate. Energy released in the exergonic reaction,
such as glucose breakdown during cellular respiration, is used to
regenerate ATP from ADP. In this process, a phosphate group is
bonded to ADP- the ADP is phosphorylated. This is an
endergonic (energy-storing) reaction. A cell at work uses ATP
continuously, and the ATP cycle runs at a very fast pace. A
working cell may consume and generate 10 million ATP
molecules each second. But even with constant supply of ATP,
few metabolic reactions would occur without the assistance of
enzymes.
Ass
Photosynthesis
(Chloroplast, Chlorophyll and Other Pigments)
