TRANSPORT IN PLANTS
Transport mechanism
- first things to consider
- Materials move through a solution and crosses
a membrane.
Diffusion, Osmosis, and Movement across a
Membrane
Diffusion
 movement from high concentration to an area
of low concentration
 Simplest method of transport
 Does not require energy
 Occurs via random kinetic movement
NET DIFFUSION STOPS WHEN
 concentration on both sides equal or when
there is a uniform distribution of particle
 equilibrium is reached
 Molecules continue to move, but no net change
in concentration
3 TYPES OF MEMBRANES:
1.Freely permeable
2.Completely impermeable
3.Semi or selectively permeable
Factors Affecting Diffusion Across a Plasma Membrane
 Diffusion directly through lipid bilayer
 The greater the lipid solubility, the more
permeable the membrane will be
 All else being equal, smaller particles will diffuse
more rapidly than larger particles
 O2, H2O, CO2 (small molecules) rapidly diffuse
across a lipid bilayer
 Diffusion of hydrophilic molecules across a plasma
membrane
•Plasma membrane is semipermeable
•Water, while polar, is small enough to freely move
across the plasma membrane
•Larger, hydrophilic uncharged molecules, such as
sugars, do not freely diffuse (they can diffuse, but it is
very slow)
•Charged molecules cannot diffuse through lipid bilayer
•Ion channels and specific transporters are required for
charged molecules and larger uncharged molecules
Osmosis
 diffusion of water across a semi-permeable
membrane
 the passive transport of water
 lower concentration) to higher concentration of
osmotically active solutes (water concentration
is low)
 Water moves from dilute solution to
concentrated solution
Plasma membrane permeable to water but not to
solute
Osmotically active solute – a solute that does not
readily cross a plasma membrane
Osmotic potential is the total of all dissolved particles
SOLUTION TYPES RELATIVE TO CELL
1. Hypertonic solution
- solute concentration of solution higher than cell
- Water moves out of cell into solution
- Cell shrinks
2. Hypotonic solution
- solute concentration of solution lower than cell
- Less dissolved particles outside of cell than
inside the cell
- Water moves into cell from solution
- Cell expands (and may burst in animals)
3. Isotonic solution
- solute concentration of solution equal to that of
cell
- No net water movement
Osmosis produces a physical force Movement of water
into a cell can put pressure on plasma membrane
•Cell membrane pushes against cell wall
•The rigid cell wall resists due to its own structural
integrity
Turgidity which keeps plants upright
Wilting if plant is not watered
Plasmolysis if water turgidity is restored
Facilitated diffusion
 diffusion of large, membrane insoluble
compounds such as sugars and amino acids
 Does not require energy (passive)
 Substance binds to membrane-spanning
transport protein
 Binding alters protein conformation, exposing
the other surface
 Fully reversible – molecules may enter the cell
and leave the cell through transport protein
 Particles move from areas of high concentration
to areas of low concentration
Active transport
 Movement across membrane with an energy
cost.
 pump specific compounds in or out of the cell
 Requires energy to overcome the concentration
and electrochemical gradient or to allow a large
or charged particle to cross membrane
 Requires specific integral membrane proteins
 Can be saturated like facilitated diffusion
proteins
 Distinguished from facilitated diffusion because
of its requirement for energy
TRANSPORT IN PLANTS OCCURS IN 3 LEVELS:
1. Uptake and release of water and solutes by
individual cells to absorption of water and minerals
from the soil by the root cells
2. Short distance transport of substances from cell
to cell to loading of sucrose from photosynthetic
cells into the sieve tube cells of the phloem
 3. Long distance transport of sap within the xylem
and phloem to whole plant phenomena to transport
of photosynthate from leaf to root
Cellular-level transport
Animal cells: water from hypotonic to hypertonic
solutions (low concentration of solute and high
concentration to high concentration and low
concentration)
Plant cells, there is added pressure due to the cell
wall
Water potential
 chemical potential/free energy that water have
(Ψ)
 Affected by osmotic potential and solute
potential.
 Ψ = Ψp + Ψs
 Water will flow through a membrane from a
solution of high Ψ to a solution of low water
potential
 Movement of water is related to Ψ; substances
diffuse from regions where they are more
concentrated to regions where they are more
diluted or that water moves from regions where
Ψ is relatively positive to regions where Ψ is
relatively more negative
Osmotic potential - water potential due to pressure
which maybe negative or positive
Solute potential - water potential due to solute
concentration
1. Water moves whenever there is a difference in Ψ
2. If Ψ of 2 regions are equal – no net movement of
water – water may still be diffusing but in the same
amount into and out of the cell
3. Ψ must always be considered in pairs or in groups
•Animal cell when put in pure water will burst –
however, plant cells do not because of the wall – cell
walls can counter act the Ψp
• Ψ in plant cells are very negative despite the influx of
water
2 METHODS/ROUTES BY WHICH WATER MOVE
THROUGH THE CELLS:
1. Symplastic movement – movement of water through
the continuous connection of cytoplasm.
2. Apoplastic movement - Movement of water and
solutes through the cell walls and the intercellular
spaces
Short distance transport
 Plant cells communicate with their neighboring
cells, transferring sugars, minerals and
hormones
 Occurs through the plasmodesmata
 Transport across the plasma membrane
 Fusion between transport vesicles and plasma
membrane
plasmodesmata - fine cytoplasmic channels in the
primary cell wall
Motor cells: Mimosa pudica and prayer plant
- located in the midrib
Point of flexure: midrib or point at which the petiole
attaches to the lamina or stem
•Opens as potassium ions slowly accumulates and
water diffuses in
Absorption
•Water and mineral salts are absorbed by the
epidermal cells or root hairs; pass through the cortex,
endodermis and the pericycle into the primary xylem;
and move upward
MECHANISMS OF WATER ABSORPTION:
1. Root pressure – result from the osmotic movement
of water into the root
Soil solutes are absorbed and accumulate in the cell in
high concentrations as a result of the activities of the
living root cells
•The total concentration of the cell sap of the root
hairs and other roots cells is normally greater than that
of the soil solution
•The greater amount of solutes in the cell sap reduces
the water potential in the cell sap, much lower than
that of the soil solution
•Rate of movement depends upon the difference in
water potential of the 2 solutions
2. Water tension in the xylem
- no root pressure (when transpiration exceeds
absorption)
 Pressure on the water in the vessels is lower
than atmospheric pressure
FACTORS AFFECTING WATER ABSORPTION
1. Moisture content of the soil – readily available
water of the soil is very important
2. Root growth and soil moisture – capillary
movement of water in soils is too slow to meet
the requirements of growing plants; roots must
continually penetrate into the new soil if they
are to utilize the water it holds.
3. Solute concentration of soil solution – equal
concentration of the soil solution and cell sap
results to a stop in absorption.
4. Unavailable water moisture – water molecules
that are held so tightly by the soil particles that
the roots cannot absorb rapidly enough to
prevent wilting
5. Permanent wilting percentage of the soil – the
percentage of water left in the soil that a soil
can hold that is unavailable to plant
 6. Influence of soil type – permanent wilting Vacuole to cytoplasm to wall > intercellular air spaces to
percentage vary with the type of soil; clay soil drier air outside
has a higher PWP than that of sandy or any soil
that is porous • As water is lost from a cell by outward diffusion, the
7. Root hairs – extensions of the root epidermal cell loses some of its turgor and
cells to increase the surface area
•Cell gains water by osmosis from adjacent more
8. Mycorrhizae – fungal associations with roots
saturated cells
Endodermis
•Quantity of water transpired by plants is of great
 prevents the passive transport of toxins
amount, as much as 98% of water absorbed by the
because of its casparian strip (wax)
roots is lost through transpiration
•Plasma membrane of endodermal cells contain many
Water use efficiency – ratio of grams of water lost per
transport proteins to actively transport some molecules
carbon dioxide fixed (transpiration to photosynthesis
in and (pump) out
ratio)
•Once the water passes under the casparian strip, it is
•Plants have to open their stomata to be able to gather
free to enter the apoplast gain on its way to the xylem
CO2 from the environment; an unavoidable
TRANSPIRATION-COHESION-TENSION: a mechanism to consequence is the loss of water through the stomata
pull xylem sap up the plant
Evapotranspiration – the total amount of water that a
Transpiration unit of land area loses to the atmosphere through
 loss of water in vapor form into the atmosphere evaporation by transpiration from plants growing on
from a living plant the land
 supply photosynthesis, bring minerals from
Root pressure - mechanism to push xylem sap up the
roots for biosynthesis within the leaf and cool
plant (in some plants)
the leaf
 At night (very low transpiration); roots continue
Cuticular transpiration - When water is transpired
to actively transport minerals into the stele
through the cuticle
 Lowers the water potential in the stele
Stomatal transpiration – transpired majority of
 Water passively flows into the roots, pushing
water thourgh stomata, making leaves as principal
the water up against gravity
transpiring organ
 Water that reaches the leaves is often forced
out, causing a beading of water upon the leaf
PROCESS OF TRANSPIRATION
tips (guttation)
1. Turgid leaf cells are filled with water; the
FACTORS AFFECTING TRANSPIRATION RATE
vacuoles are filled up with water and occupy
(ENVIRONMENTAL AND STRUCTURAL)
the greatest area of the cytoplasm
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:
2. Walls of the cells are also filled with water
making it moist and air spaces almost saturated Atmospheric humidity – the drier the air above the
with water vapor plant, the greater is the transpiration rate
3. These results to a higher water potential within
the air spaces in leaves than the outside Air movements
atmosphere - the faster the air movement, the greater is the
4. If the air around a leaf is not saturated (or dry) transpiration rate
water vapor molecules tend to diffuse from the  carries away the humid air near the leaf surface
saturated air in the leaf through the stomata and replaces it with drier air resulting to a faster
into the less saturated outer air (where vapor transpiration rate
pressure and water potential, is lower)
5. Water molecules then evaporate from the wet Temperature - transpiration rate increases as air
walls and diffuse into the drier air in the leaf temperature increases
6. Creates a tension on the water in the xylem and
 High temperature causes the internal
gently pulls the water to the direction of the
temperature of the leaf to increase resulting to
water loss
a faster rate of water loss
7. Cohesion of water is strong enough to transmit
this pulling force all the way down to the roots Soil conditions
8. Adhesion of water to the cell wall also aids in
resisting gravity  Cold soil, alkali soils, poor soil aeration
diminishes water absorption of the roots,
Higher water potential - greater water molecule activity mesophyll cells of plants do not give up water
vapor as freely as they when they are well-
Diffusion gradient
supplied with water  reduced transpiration
 the concentration of solute increases
 (water potential within the cell decreases)
  Low moisture in the soil also reduces
transpiration rate
Cuticle – about 10% of water absorbed by plants are
lost through the cuticle, the thicker the cuticle the less
water is lost
Stomatal behavior - after rapid transpiration, water
amount in the leaf is reduced causing the guard cells to
become flaccid and closes the stomata
 C3 plants have their stomata open during the
day for photosynthesis (gas exchange)
 light cause the stomata of some plants to open
1. Sunken stomata
 stomata found below the level of the leaf
surface
 this way plants can facilitate gas exchange while
at the same time can reduce the water loss
2. Distribution of stomata – most of the stomata
are found on the undersurface, this is to
conserve more water
Reduction of transpiring surfaces – some plants curl
their leaves during drought to reduce transpiration;
some plants do not have foliage leaves
Epidermal hairs – (trichomes); epidermal hairs; may
reduce the amount of water lost from the leaves
Guttation
 the loss of liquid from leaves of intact plants;
water secretion by the hydathodes
 occurs when the absorption of water is high
while transpiration rate is low
 Hydathodes – structure usually found on the
tips, margins or surfaces of leaves
CLASSIFICATION PLANTS BASED ON THEIR WATER
NEEDS:
Xerophytes – plants that are able to live in very dry
places
•Thick cuticles
•Succulent thick leaves
•Loss of leaves/reduction of leaves to form spines
•Light colored leaves (to reflect light and heat –cooling)
•Trichomes (hairs)
•Sunken stomates
Cam Photosynthesis Hydrophytes – plants which live in
water or in very wet soil
Mesophytes – plants that thrive best in moderate water
supply
Halophytes – plants that grow on very salty soils
Transpiration-pull theory or water cohesion theory
 Explains the movement of water from the roots
towards the tip of the plant
 The living leaf cells next to the tracheids in
veinlets eventually lose water to neighboring
cells
 Water moves from the veinlets into the
adjacent cells resulting to the upwards
movement of water in continuous liquid
columns in the xylem
 Continuity of water is maintained even under
conditions of considerable strain because of the
strong cohesive forces between water
molecules
Translocation – process of moving photosynthetic
product through the phloem
 Sieve tube members in angiosperms are
arranged end to end to form large sieve tubes
 Sugar can be concentrated up to 30% by weight
 Transport is bidirectional
 Phloem moves from a sugar source (a place
where sugar is produced by photosynthesis or
by the breakdown of sugars) to a sugar sink (an
organ which consumes or stores sugar)
Conduction in the phloem
Rapid translocation of foods throughout the plant
occurs in the phloem (100cm/hr), specifically sieve
tubes
 Foods may move upward or downward in the
phloem; direction of movement is from areas
where amount is high to areas where amount
present is very low
 Concentrations of sugars in the sieve tubes is
quite high (most common is sucrose); phloem
sap contains nitrogenous compounds (amino
acids), hormones and various inorganic ions
Phloem loading – process of accumulation of solutes in
the sieve tubes to concentrations 1.5 to 2 times that in
the surrounding cell
Phloem loading and unloading
 Sucrose manufactured in the mesophyll cell can
travel via the symplast to sieve tube members
 Sucrose is loaded into the phloem via a
chemiosmotic ATPase mechanism couple with a
H+/sucrose symport
 H+ is actively pumped out by hydrolyzing ATP
 H+ accumulated outside the membrane,
generating a concentration and electrochemical
gradient
 The H+ is transported by a carrier protein
(sucrose must also bind); when both are bound,
the configuration changes and the protein
opens to the membrane interior
 Downstream, sucrose must be unloaded, again
utilizing an H+/sucrose pump
 Phloem loading results in a high solute
concentration at the source end
 Creates a hypnotic conditions in the phloem,
causing water inflow
 Hydrostatic pressure builds in the sieve tube
but is greates in the source
  At the sink, osmosis occurs with the unloading
sugar-water flows out of the phloem
 Build up of pressure at the source and the
reduction of that pressure at the sink causes
water to flow from source to sink, carrying
sugar along with it
 Water is recycled via transport in the xylem
Thylakoids
 connected sacs in the chloroplast
 the chlorophyll is in its membrane
Grana – column-stacked thylakoids.
Stroma - a dense interior fluid that Chloroplasts also
contain

THE PROCESS THAT FEEDS THE BIOSPHERE

Photosynthesis
 is the process that converts solar energy into
chemical energy
 Directly or indirectly, photosynthesis nourishes
almost the entire living world
 occurs in plants, algae, certain other protists,
and some prokaryotes these organisms feed not
only themselves but also most of the living
world
 complex series of reactions

Autotrophs
 sustain themselves
 producers of the biosphere, producing organic Tracking Atoms through Photosynthesis: Scientific
molecules from CO2 and other inorganic Inquiry
molecules
Photosynthesis’ equation:
Photoautotrophs
6 CO2 + 12 H2O + Light energy C6H12O6 + 6 O2
 Almost all plants are, using the energy of
+ 6 H2O
sunlight to make organic molecules
THE SPLITTING OF WATER
Heterotrophs
Chloroplasts split H2O into:
 obtain their organic material from other
1. Hydrogen
organisms
2. Oxygen
 consumers of the biosphere
Incorporating the electrons of hydrogen into sugar
 Almost all heterotrophs, including humans,
molecules and releasing oxygen as a by-product
depend on photoautotrophs for food and O2
Photosynthesis as a Redox Process
Fossil fuels
1. Photosynthesis reverses the direction of
 Formed from the remains of organisms that
electron flow compared to respiration
died hundreds of millions of years ago.
2. Photosynthesis is a redox process in which H2O
 represent stores of solar energy from the
is oxidized and CO2 is reduced
distant past
3. Photosynthesis is an endergonic process; the
Photosynthesis - converts light energy to the chemical energy boost is provided by light
energy of food.
THE TWO STAGES OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
 Chloroplasts are structurally similar to and
1. light reactions - the photo part
likely evolved from photosynthetic bacteria
2. Calvin cycle - the synthesis part
 The structural organization of these cells allows
for the chemical reactions of photosynthesis The light reactions (in the thylakoids)
1. Split H2O
Chloroplasts -The Sites of Photosynthesis in Plants
2. Release O2
Leaves -are the major locations of photosynthesis 3. Reduce NADP+ to NADPH
4. Generate ATP from ADP by
Chlorophyll - the green pigment within chloroplasts photophosphorylation

Mesophyll The Calvin cycle (in the stroma)

 An interior tissue of the leaf where chloroplasts  forms sugar from CO2, using ATP and NADPH
are mainly found.
 contains 30–40 chloroplasts

Stomata – microscopic pores where CO2 enters and O2

exits the leaf.
  begins with carbon fixation, incorporating CO2
into organic molecules
Light reactions - convert solar energy to the chemical
energy of ATP and NADPH
Chloroplasts - are solar-powered chemical factories
•Their thylakoids transform light energy into the
chemical energy of ATP and NADPH
THE NATURE OF SUNLIGHT
1. Light is a form of electromagnetic energy, also
called electromagnetic radiation
2. light travels in rhythmic waves
Wavelength
 distance between crests of waves
 determines the type of electromagnetic energy
Electromagnetic spectrum - entire range
electromagnetic energy or radiation
•Visible light consists of wavelengths that produce
colors we can see
Photons- Light also behaves as it consists of discrete
particles
Photosynthetic Pigments: The Light Receptors
Pigments
 substances that absorb visible light
 Wavelengths that are not absorbed are
reflected or transmitted
 Different pigments absorb different wavelengths
 Leaves appear green because chlorophyll reflects
and transmits green light
Chlorophyll a - main photosynthetic pigment
ACCESSORT PIGMENTS
1. Chlorophyll b – broaden the spectrum used for
photosynthesis.
2. Carotenoids - absorb excessive light that would
damage chlorophyll
EXCITATION OF CHLOROPHYLL BY LIGHT
1. When a pigment absorbs light, it goes from a
ground state to an excited state, which is
unstable
2. When excited electrons fall back to the ground
state, photons are given off, an afterglow called
FLUORESCENCE
3. If illuminated, an isolated solution of
chlorophyll will fluoresce, giving off light and
heat
Photosystem: A Reaction-Center Complex (protein
complex) Associated with Light-Harvesting Complexes
The light-harvesting complexes
 pigment molecules bound to proteins
 transfer the energy of photons to the reaction
center
Primary electron acceptor - in the reaction center
accepts excited electrons and is reduced as a result
Solar-powered transfer of an electron from chlorophyll
a to primary electron acceptor is the first step of the
light reaction
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF PHOTOSYSTEMS IN THE
THYLAKOID MEMBRANE
1. Photosystem II (PS II) - functions first, best at
absorbing a wavelength of 680 nm
 P680 - The reaction-center chlorophyll a
of PS II.
2. Photosystem I (PS I) - best at absorbing a
wavelength of 700 nm
 P700 - The reaction-center chlorophyll a
of PS I.
of Linear Electron Flow - the primary pathway, involves
both photosystems and produces ATP and NADPH using
light energy
 Cyclic and linear - two possible routes
for electron flow during the light
reactions.
A photon hits a pigment and its energy is passed among
pigment molecules until it excites P680
•An excited electron from P680 is transferred to
the primary electron acceptor (we now call it P680+)
P680+ - is a very strong oxidizing agent
 H2O is split by enzymes, and the electrons are
transferred from the hydrogen atoms to P680+,
thus reducing it to P680
 O2 is released as a by-product of this reaction
 Each electron “falls” down an electron transport
chain from the primary electron acceptor of PS II to
PS I
 Energy released by the fall drives the creation of a
proton gradient across the thylakoid membrane
 Diffusion of H+ (protons) across the membrane
drives ATP synthesis
 Each electron “falls” down an electron transport
chain from the primary electron acceptor of PS II to
PS I
 The electrons are then transferred to NADP+ and
reduce it to NADPH
 The electrons of NADPH are available for the
reactions of the Calvin cycle
 This process also removes an H+ from the stroma
Cyclic Electron Flow
 uses only photosystem I and produces ATP, but
not NADPH
 No oxygen is released
 generates surplus ATP, satisfying the higher
demand in the Calvin cycle
 thought to have evolved before linear electron
flow
 protect cells from light-induced damage
Purple sulfur bacteria - have PS I but not PS II
Calvin cycle
 uses the chemical energy of ATP and NADPH to
reduce CO2 to sugar
 like the citric acid cycle, regenerates its starting
material after molecules enter and leave the
cycle
 builds sugar from smaller molecules by using
ATP and the reducing power of electrons
carried by NADPH
Carbon enters the cycle as CO2 and leaves as a sugar
named glyceraldehyde 3-phospate (G3P)
For net synthesis of 1 G3P, the cycle must take place
three times, fixing 3 molecules of CO2
THE CALVIN CYCLE HAS THREE PHASES
1. Carbon fixation (catalyzed by rubisco)
2. Reduction
3. Regeneration of the CO2 acceptor (RuBP)
Alternative mechanisms of carbon fixation have
evolved in hot, arid climates
Dehydration is a problem for plants, sometimes
requiring trade-offs with other metabolic processes,
especially photosynthesis
 On hot, dry days, plants close stomata, which
conserve H2O but also limits photosynthesis
 Closing of stomata reduces access to CO2 and
causes O2 to build up
Photorespiration
 a wasteful process
 rubisco adds O2 instead of CO2 in the Calvin
cycle, producing a two-carbon compound
 consumes O2 and organic fuel and releases CO2
without producing ATP or sugar
 may be an evolutionary relic because rubisco
first evolved at a time when the atmosphere
had far less O2 and more CO2
 limits damaging products of light reactions that
build up in the absence of the Calvin cycle
 a problem because on a hot, dry day it can drain
as much as 50% of the carbon fixed by the
Calvin cycle
Photorespiration: An Evolutionary Relic?
C3 plants - initial fixation of CO2, via rubisco, forms a
three-carbon compound (3-phosphoglycerate)
C4 Plants
- minimize the cost of photorespiration by
incorporating CO2 into four-carbon
compounds in mesophyll cells
 This step requires the enzyme PEP carboxylase
PEP carboxylase
- has higher affinity for CO2 than rubisco does
- it can fix CO2 even when CO2 concentrations
are low
 These four-carbon compounds are exported to
bundle-sheath cells, where they release CO2
that is then used in the Calvin cycle
In the last 150 years since the Industrial Revolution, CO2
levels have risen greatly
 Increasing levels of CO2 may affect C3 and C4
plants differently, perhaps changing the relative
abundance of these species
 The effects of such changes are unpredictable
and a cause for concern
Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM)- fix carbon in
succulent
CAM Plants
- open their stomata at night, incorporating CO2
into organic acids
- Stomata close during the day, and CO2 is
released from organic acids and used in the
Calvin cycle
THE IMPORTANCE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
1. The energy entering chloroplasts as sunlight
gets stored as chemical energy in organic
compounds
2. Sugar made in the chloroplasts supplies
chemical energy and carbon skeletons to
synthesize the organic molecules of cells
3. Plants store excess sugar as starch in structures
such as roots, tubers, seeds, and fruits
4. Photosynthesis produces the O2 in our
atmosphere

OVERVIEW: LIFE IS WORK

Living cells require energy from outside sources

Energy flows into an ecosystem as sunlight and leaves

as heat

Photosynthesis generates O2 and organic molecules,

which are used in cellular respiration

Cells use chemical energy stored in organic molecules to

regenerate ATP, which powers work

Catabolic pathways yield energy by oxidizing organic

fuels

Catabolic Pathways and Production of ATP

The breakdown of organic molecules is exergonic

Fermentation is a partial degradation of sugars that •NAD+ functions – as an electron acceptor it function
occurs without O2 as oxidizing agent during cellular respiration

Aerobic respiration consumes organic molecules and • NADH

O2 and yields ATP - the reduced form of NAD+
- represents stored energy that is tapped to
Anaerobic respiration is similar to aerobic respiration synthesize ATP
but consumes compounds other than O2
Electron transport chain
Cellular respiration both aerobic and anaerobic
respiration but is often used to refer to aerobic - Where NADH passes the electrons.
respiration - It passes electrons in a series of steps instead
of one explosive reaction
 Although carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are
all consumed as fuel, it is helpful to trace •O2 - pulls electrons down the chain in an energy-
cellular respiration with the sugar glucose yielding tumble

C6H12O6 + 6 O2  6 CO2 + 6 H2O + Energy (ATP + heat) •The energy yielded is used to regenerate ATP

REDOX REACTIONS: OXIDATION AND REDUCTION The Stages of Cellular Respiration: A Preview

1. The transfer of electrons during chemical
reactions releases energy stored in organic
molecules
2. This released energy is ultimately used to
synthesize ATP
THE PRINCIPLE OF REDOX
Oxidation-reduction reactions or redox reactions -
Chemical reactions that transfer electrons between
reactants
Oxidation- a substance loses electrons.
Reduction- a substance gains electrons, or is reduced
(the amount of positive charge is reduced)
THREE STAGES HARVESTING OF ENERGY FROM
GLUCOSE HAS
1. Glycolysis - breaks down glucose into two
molecules of pyruvate
2. citric acid cycle - completes the breakdown of
glucose
3. Oxidative phosphorylation
- accounts for most of the ATP synthesis
- process that generates most of the ATP
because it is powered by redox reactions
- accounts for almost 90% of the ATP generated
by cellular respiration

Reducing agent - electron donor

Oxidizing agent - The electron receptor

Redox reactions – do not transfer electrons but change

the electron sharing in covalent bonds

OXIDATION OF ORGANIC FUEL MOLECULES DURING

CELLULAR RESPIRATION

•During cellular respiration, the fuel (such as

glucose) is oxidized, and O2 is reduced

STEPWISE ENERGY HARVEST VIA NAD+ AND THE

ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN

•In cellular respiration, glucose and other organic

molecules are broken down in a series of steps
Substrate-level phosphorylation – a small amount of
•Electrons from organic compounds are usually first ATP is formed in glycolysis and the citric acid cycle.
transferred to NAD+, a coenzyme
•For each molecule of glucose degraded to CO2 and
water by respiration, the cell makes up to 32 molecules
of ATP

Glycolysis - harvests chemical energy by oxidizing

glucose to pyruvate
- “splitting of sugar”
- breaks down glucose into two molecules of
pyruvate
- occurs in the cytoplasm and
- occurs whether or not O2 is present
- has TWO MAJOR PHASES :
1. Energy investment phase
2. Energy payoff phase

•The acetyl group of acetyl CoA joins the cycle by

combining with oxaloacetate, forming citrate

•The next seven steps decompose the citrate back to

oxaloacetate.

•The NADH and FADH2 produced by the cycle relay

electrons extracted from food to the electron transport
chain

Citric acid cycle - completes the energy-yielding

oxidation of organic molecules after pyruvate is
oxidized.

•In the presence of O2, pyruvate enters the

mitochondrion where the oxidation of glucose is
completed.

OXIDATION OF PYRUVATE TO ACETYL COA

Acetyl Coenzyme A (acetyl CoA) – a converted pyruvate

which links glycolysis to the citric acid cycle
OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION
•This step is carried out by a multienzyme complex that
Chemiosmosis - couples electron transport to ATP
catalyses three reactions
synthesis
CITRIC ACID CYCLE
•Following glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, NADH and
- also called the Krebs cycle
FADH2 account for most of the energy extracted from
- completes the breakdown of pyruvate to CO2
food
- oxidizes organic fuel derived from pyruvate,
•These two electron carriers donate electrons to the
generating 1 ATP, 3 NADH, and 1 FADH2 per
electron transport chain, which powers ATP synthesis
turn
via oxidative phosphorylation
- has eight steps, each catalyzed by a specific
enzyme
THE PATHWAY OF ELECTRON TRANSPORT
-
Cristae - the inner membrane of the mitochondrion
where the electron transport chain is in.

•Most of the chain’s components are proteins, which

exist in multiprotein complexes
•The carriers alternate reduced and oxidized states as
they accept and donate electrons
•Electrons drop in free energy as they go down the
chain and are finally passed to O2, forming H2O
•Electrons are transferred from NADH or FADH2 to the
electron transport chain
•Electrons are passed through a number of proteins
including cytochromes (each with an iron atom) to O2
•The electron transport chain generates no ATP directly
•It breaks the large free-energy drop from food to O2
into smaller steps that release energy in manageable
amounts
CHEMIOSMOSIS: THE ENERGY-COUPLING MECHANISM
- use of energy in a H+ gradient to drive cellular
work
1. Electron transfer in the electron transport chain
causes proteins to pump H+ from the
mitochondrial matrix to the intermembrane
space
2. H+ then moves back across the membrane,
passing through the proton, ATP synthase
3. ATP synthase uses the exergonic flow of H+ to
drive phosphorylation of ATP
The energy stored in an H+ gradient across a membrane
couples the redox reactions of the electron transport
chain to ATP synthesis
H+ gradient - referred as proton-motive force,
emphasizing its capacity to do work
AN ACCOUNTING OF ATP PRODUCTION BY CELLULAR
RESPIRATION
During cellular respiration, most energy flows in this
sequence:
34% of energy – (in a glucose molecule) is transferred
to ATP during cellular respiration, making about 32 ATP
•There are several reasons why the number of ATP is
not known exactly
FERMENTATION AND ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION -
enable cells to produce atp without the use of oxygen
•Most cellular respiration requires O2 to produce ATP
•Without O2, the electron transport chain will cease to
operate
•In that case, glycolysis couples with fermentation or
anaerobic respiration to produce ATP
Anaerobic respiration uses electron transport chain
with a final electron acceptor other than O2.
Fermentation uses substrate-level phosphorylation
instead of an electron transport chain to generate ATP.
 Fermentation consists of glycolysis plus
reactions that regenerate NAD+, which can be
reused by glycolysis
TYPES OF FERMENTATION
1. alcohol fermentation
- pyruvate is converted to ethanol in two steps,
with the first releasing CO2
- used in brewing, winemaking, and baking by
yeast
2. lactic acid fermentation
- pyruvate is reduced to NADH, forming lactate
as an end product, with no release of CO2
- used to make cheese and yogurt by some fungi
and bacteria
•Human muscle cells use lactic acid fermentation to
generate ATP when O2 is scarce
COMPARING FERMENTATION WITH ANAEROBIC AND
AEROBIC RESPIRATION
1. All use glycolysis to oxidize glucose and harvest
chemical energy of food
2. In all three, NAD+ is the oxidizing agent that
accepts electrons during glycolysis
3. The processes have different final electron
acceptors: an organic molecule (such as
 pyruvate or acetaldehyde) in fermentation and
O2 in cellular respiration
4. Cellular respiration produces 32 ATP per
glucose molecule; fermentation produces 2 ATP
per glucose molecule

Obligate anaerobes
- carry out fermentation or anaerobic respiration
- cannot survive in the presence of O2
Facultative anaerobes
- Yeast and many bacteria
- they can survive using either fermentation or
cellular respiration
- pyruvate here is a fork in the metabolic road
that leads to two alternative catabolic routes

THE EVOLUTIONARY SIGNIFICANCE OF GLYCOLYSIS

 Ancient prokaryotes - thought to have used
glycolysis long before there was oxygen in the
atmosphere
Biosynthesis (Anabolic Pathways)
 Very little O2 was available in the atmosphere
•The body uses small molecules to build other
until about 2.7 billion years ago, so early
substances
prokaryotes likely used only glycolysis to
•These small molecules may come directly from
generate ATP
food, from glycolysis, or from the citric acid cycle
 Glycolysis is a very ancient process
REGULATION OF CELLULAR RESPIRATION VIA
GLYCOLYSIS AND THE CITRIC ACID CYCLE connect to
FEEDBACK MECHANISMS
many other metabolic pathways
Feedback inhibition - is the most common mechanism
for control
Gycolysis and the citric acid cycle are major
•If ATP concentration begins to drop, respiration speeds
intersections to various catabolic and anabolic
up; when there is plenty of ATP, respiration slows down
pathways
•Control of catabolism is based mainly on regulating the
activity of enzymes at strategic points in the catabolic
THE VERSATILITY OF CATABOLISM
pathway
 Catabolic pathways funnel electrons from many
kinds of organic molecules into cellular respiration
 Glycolysis accepts a wide range of
carbohydrates
 Proteins must be digested to amino acids;
amino groups can feed glycolysis or the citric acid cycle

Fats
- used in glycolysis, digested to glycerol
Fatty acids
- used in generating acetyl CoA), digested to
glycerol
- broken down by beta oxidation and yield
acetyl CoA
•An oxidized gram of fat produces more than twice as
much ATP as an oxidized gram of carbohydrate