Cellular Respiration Bio 1 2023

Cellular respiration, the process by which organisms combine
oxygen with foodstuff molecules, diverting the chemical energy

in these substances into life-sustaining activities and discarding,
as waste products, carbon dioxide and water. Organisms that
do not depend on oxygen degrade foodstuffs in a process called
fermentation. (For longer treatments of various aspects of
cellular respiration,
Role of mitochondria
basic overview of processes of ATP production
basic overview of processes of ATP production
One objective of the degradation of foodstuffs is to convert the
energy contained in chemical bonds into the energy-rich
compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which captures the
chemical energy obtained from the breakdown of food
molecules and releases it to fuel other cellular processes. In
eukaryotic cells (that is, any cells or organisms that possess a
clearly defined nucleus and membrane-bound organelles) the
enzymes that catalyze the individual steps involved in
respiration and energy conservation are located in highly
organized rod-shaped compartments called mitochondria. In
microorganisms the enzymes occur as components of the cell
membrane. A liver cell has about 1,000 mitochondria; large egg
cells of some vertebrates have up to 200,000.
Glycolysis
Glycolysis (which is also known as the glycolytic pathway or the
Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway) is a sequence of 10
chemical reactions taking place in most cells that breaks down a
glucose molecule into two pyruvate (pyruvic acid) molecules.
Energy released during the breakdown of glucose and other
organic fuel molecules from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
during glycolysis is captured and stored in ATP. In addition, the
compound nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is
converted to NADH during this step (see below). Pyruvate
molecules produced during glycolysis then enter the
mitochondria, where they are each converted into a compound
known as acetyl coenzyme A, which then enters the TCA cycle.
(Some sources consider the conversion of pyruvate into acetyl
coenzyme A as a distinct step, called pyruvate oxidation or the
transition reaction, in the process of cellular respiration.)
Tricarboxylic acid cycle

The TCA cycle (which is also known as the Krebs, or citric acid,
cycle) plays a central role in the breakdown, or catabolism, of
organic fuel molecules. The cycle is made up of eight steps
catalyzed by eight different enzymes that produce energy at
several different stages. Most of the energy obtained from the
TCA cycle, however, is captured by the compounds NAD+ and
flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and converted later to ATP.
The products of a single turn of the TCA cycle consist of three
NAD+ molecules, which are reduced (through the process of
adding hydrogen, H+) to the same number of NADH molecules,
and one FAD molecule, which is similarly reduced to a single
FADH2 molecule. These molecules go on to fuel the third stage
of cellular respiration, whereas carbon dioxide, which is also
produced by the TCA cycle, is released as a waste product.
Oxidative phosphorylation
In the oxidative phosphorylation stage, each pair of hydrogen
atoms removed from NADH and FADH2 provides a pair of
electrons that—through the action of a series of iron-containing
hemoproteins, the cytochromes—eventually reduces one atom
of oxygen to form water. In 1951 it was discovered that the
transfer of one pair of electrons to oxygen results in the
formation of three molecules of ATP.
Oxidative phosphorylation is the major mechanism by which
the large amounts of energy in foodstuffs are conserved and
made available to the cell. The series of steps by which
electrons flow to oxygen permits a gradual lowering of the
energy of the electrons. This part of the oxidative
phosphorylation stage is sometimes called the electron
transport chain. Some descriptions of cellular respiration that
focus on the importance of the electron transport chain have
changed the name of the oxidative phosphorylation stage to
the electron transport chain.

Cellular Respiration Bio 1 2023

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Cellular respiration, the process by which organisms combine

oxygen with foodstuff molecules, diverting the chemical energy

Tricarboxylic acid cycle

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