where does glycolysis take

place
Glycolysis is the process of converting glucose into two molecules of pyruvic acid by producing two
ATP and two NADH. Glycolysis occurs in cells of microorganisms, plants and animals through 10
reaction stages. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm with the help of 10 different types of enzymes.

What is glycolysis?
Glycolysis is the first stage of aerobic respiration to process sugar into energy in the form of ATP
(adenosine triphosphate). Aerobic respiration itself takes place in 4 stages, namely glycolysis,
oxidative decarboxylation, the Krebs cycle, and electron transport.

ATP produced in glycolysis will be used for various processes that require energy, because ATP is an
energy storage molecule. Whereas NADH will later undergo an electron transfer process to produce
ATP. An NADH molecule in electron transfer will produce three ATP molecules.

Procces of glycolysis
Stage 1: Glucose Phosphorylation
The first step is glucose phosphorylation (addition of phosphate groups). This reaction is made
possible by the enzyme hexokinase, which separates one phosphate group from ATP (Adenosine
Triphsophate) and adds it to glucose, converting it to glucose 6-phosphate. In the process one ATP
molecule, which is the body's energy currency, is used and will be transformed into ADP (Adenosine
Diphosphate), because of the separation of one phosphate group. The overall reaction can be
summarized as follows:

C6H12O6 (Glucose) + + ATP hexokinase → C6H11O6P1 (Glucose 6-Phosphate) + ADP

Stage 2: Production of Fructose-6 Phosphate

The second step is the production of fructose 6-phosphate. This is made possible by the action of the
enzyme phosphoglucoisomerase. It acts on the product from the previous stage, glucose 6-
phosphate and turns into fructose 6-phosphate which is its isomer (Isomers are different molecules
with the same molecular formula but different arrangement of atoms). The whole reaction is
summarized as follows:

C6H11O6P1 (Glucose 6-Phosphate) + Enzyme (Phosphoglucoisomerase) → C6H11O6P1 (Fructose 6-

Phosphate)

Stage 3: Fructose 1, 6-diphosphate production

In the next step, the 6-phosphate isomer fructose is converted to fructose 1, 6-diphosphate by
addition of the phosphate group. This conversion is made possible by the enzyme
phosphofructokinase which utilizes one more ATP molecule in the process. This reaction is
summarized as follows:

C6H11O6P1 (Fructose 6-phosphate) + Enzyme(phosphofructokinase) + ATP → C6H10O6P2 (Fructose

1, 6-diphosphate)

Stage 4: Fructose splitting 1, 6-diphosphate

In the fourth stage, the enzyme adolase carries the separation of Fructose 1, 6-diphosphate into two
different sugar molecules which are both isomers of each other. The two sugars that are formed are
glyceraldehyde phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. The reaction goes as follows:

C6H10O6P2 (Fructose 1, 6-diphosphate) + Enzyme (Aldolase) → C3H5O3P1 (glyceraldehyde

phosphate) + C3H5O3P1 (Dihydroxyacetone phosphate)

Stage 5: Two Glucose Interconversion

Dihydroxyacetone phosphate is a short-lived molecule. As soon as it's made, it will be converted to
glyceraldehyde phosphate by an enzyme called triose phosphate. So in totality, the fourth and fifth
stages of glycolysis produce two molecules of glyceraldehyde phosphate.

C3H5O3P1 (Dihydroxyacetone phosphate) + Triose Phosphate → C3H5O3P1 (glyceraldehyde

phosphate)

Stage 6: Formation of NADH & 1,3-Diphoshoglyceric

The sixth stage involves two important reactions. First is the formation of NADH from NAD +
(nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) using the triose phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme and second
is the creation of 1,3-diphoshoglyceric acid from two glyceraldehyde phosphate molecules produced
in the previous stage. Both reactions are as follows:

Enzyme (Phosphate dehydrogenase Triose) + 2 NAD + + 2 H- → 2NADH (Reduced nicotinamide

adenine dinucleotide) + 2 H + Triose phosphate dehydrogenase glyceraldehyde phosphate + 2
(C3H5O3P1) + 2P → 2 molecules of 1,3-diphoshoglyceric acid (C3H4O4P2)

Stage 7: Production of ATP & 3-phosphoglyceric acid

Stage seven involves the creation of 2 ATP molecules together with two 3-phosphoglyceric acid
molecules from the phosphoglycerokinase reaction in two 1,3-diphoshoglyceric acid product
molecules, produced from the previous stage.

C3H4O4P2 + + 2ADP phosphoglycerokinase → 2 C3H5O4P1 (molecules of 3-phosphoglyceric acid) +

2ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

Stage 8: Relocation of Phosphorus Atoms

Stage eight is a very fine re-formation reaction that implicates the phosphorus atoms’ relocation in
3-phosphoglyceric acid from the third carbon in the chain for the second carbon and creates 2 -
phosphoglyceric acid. The whole reaction is summarized like this:

C3H5O4P1 + enzyme (phosphoglyceromutase) → C3H5O4P1 (2 molecules of 2-phosphoglyceric acid)

Stage 9: Water Wipe

The enolase enzyme comes into play and removes a water molecule from 2-phosphoglyceric acid to
the form of another acid called phosphoenolpyruvic acid (PEP). This reaction changes the two 2-
phosphoglyceric acid molecules formed in the previous stage.

2 molecules of 2-phosphoglyceric acid (C3H5O4P1) + enolase (enzyme) -> 2 molecules of

phosphoenolpyruvic acid (PEP) (C3H3O3P1) + H2O 2

Stage 10: Formation of Pyruvic Acid & ATP

This stage involves the creation of two ATP molecules together with two pyruvic acid molecules from
the action of the enzyme pyruvate kinase on the two phosphoenolpyruvic acid molecules produced
in the previous stage. This is made possible by the transfer of phosphorus atoms from
phosphoenolpyruvic acid (PEP) to ADP (Adenosine triphosphate).

2 molecules of phosphoenolpyruvic acid (PEP) (C3H3O3P1) + + 2ADP pyruvate kinase (Enzyme) →

2ATP + 2 molecules of pyruvic acid.

The Result of Glycolysis

One molecule of pyruvic acid produced has a total stored energy of approximately 546 kcal, while
the energy stored in a glucose molecule is around 686 kcal. So that the energy stored in two
molecules of pyruvic acid is greater than one glucose molecule as its basic material.

The end result of glycolysis is 2 pyruvic acid molecules with 2 ATP and 2 NADH.

C6H1206 + 2NAD + 2ADP + 2Pi  2C3H403 + 2NADH2 + 2ATP

There are actually 4 ATP molecules formed, but 2 ATPs have been used to pay the ATP debt that has
been used in the first and third reaction stages. In the initial stages, the process of glycolysis requires
two ATPs as an energy source. But in the next stage, glycolysis will produce ATP which can be used
to pay the ATP debt that has been used at the beginning and there is still remaining ATP that can be
used for other functions. So in glycolysis, there is a surplus of ATP, more ATP is produced than is
used in the process.

Next Process of Pyruvic Acid

In the presence of oxygen, pyruvic acid enters the oxidative decarboxylation stage and the Krebs
cycle to form further energy. But when oxygen is not available, pyruvate will undergo a process of
homolactate fermentation or alcoholic fermentation. Both types of fermentation is a process of
producing energy without the presence of oxygen so it is called anaerobic respiration.

Homolactate fermentation occurs in microorganisms and animals. The end result of this process is
lactic acid which will accumulate in the tissues and cause fatigue. When a person is exercising hard,
his oxygen needs are not satisfied with his breathing. Then the tissue cannot undergo aerobic
respiration so what happens is homo lactate fermentation. Lactic acid which is buried causes the
muscles to feel tired when exercising. Lactic acid will be converted back into glucose in the liver but
requires a rather slow process.

While alcoholic fermentation occurs in yeast, or single-celled mushrooms that are usually used to
make wine. Yeast will turn pyruvate into alcohol which is released into the environment that humans
use to make drinks.

Glucose Metabolism
Glucose in cells can undergo various metabolic pathways, either stored, converted into energy, or
converted into other molecules. If there is excess sugar in the blood, glucose will be stored in the
muscles or liver in the form of glycogen. When the body's cells are actively dividing, glucose will be
converted into pentose sugar which is important in DNA and RNA synthesis. And when the body
needs energy, glucose will be processed to produce energy through the stages of glycolysis,
oxidative decarboxylation, the Krebs cycle, and electron transfer. These stages can occur if there is
oxygen in the tissue so that the process is called aerobic respiration (producing energy in the
presence of oxygen).