Chapter 6

Biochemical Pathways-
Cellular Respiration

6-1
 Energy and Organisms

 Organisms are classified based on the kind of energy

they use.
– Autotrophs
 Use the energy from sunlight to make organic molecules (sugar)
 Use the energy in the organic molecules to make ATP
– Heterotrophs
 Obtain organic molecules by eating the autotrophs
 Use the energy in the organic molecules to make ATP
 Autotrophs use photosynthesis.
– To use the energy from light to make organic molecules
 All organisms use cellular respiration.
– To harvest the energy from organic molecules and use it to
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 Energy Transformation

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 Aerobic Respiration: An Overview

 A series of enzyme controlled reactions

– Oxygen is used to oxidize glucose.
– Glucose is oxidized to form carbon dioxide.
– Oxygen is reduced to form water.
 During the oxidation of glucose
– The C-H and O-H bonds will be broken.
– The electrons will be transferred to electron carriers, NAD
and FAD.
 Glycolysis and Kreb’s cycle
– The electrons will be passed through an electron transport
chain.
 The energy from the electrons will be used to pump protons.
 The energy from the diffusion of protons will be used to make
ATP.
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 How breathing is related to
cellular respiration
O2

CO2
Lungs

O2 CO2

O2
CO2

Muscle cells
Cellular
respiration
 Aerobic Respiration and
Oxidation-Reduction Reactions

6-6 Glucose O2 H2O

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 Aerobic Cellular Respiration: Overview
Mitochondria Cytoplasm

Cytoplasm

Animal cell Plant cell

Cytoplasm
Mitochondrion

High-energy
electrons
via carrier
molecules


Glycolysis Citric 
Acid 
2 Pyruvic Electron
Glucose Cycle
acid Transport Chain

ATP ATP ATP

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 Glycolysis
 The breakdown of glucose
into pyruvic acid  Occurs in the
 Two ATP molecules are cytoplasm
used to energize glucose.  Anaerobic
 As glucose is metabolized,
enough energy is released
to
– Make 4 ATP molecules
 4 ATP made -2 ATP
used = net
production of 2 ATP
– Reduce 2 NAD+ to make
2 NADH
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 The Details of Glycolysis

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Preparatory Phase
 The Details of Glycolysis

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Summary

Energy
investment

Cleavage

Energy
Harvest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfGlznwfu9U
 Kreb’s Cycle
 Also known as the citric acid
cycle or the tricarboxylic
acid (TCA) cycle
 The breakdown of pyruvic
acid
– Released as carbon dioxide
 Enough energy is released
as one pyruvic acid
molecule is metabolized to
– Make 1 ATP
– Reduce 4 NAD+ to form 4
NADH
– Reduce 1 FAD to form 1
FADH2.
 Occurs in the mitochondrial
6-14 matrix
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The link between glycolysis and the citric
acid cycle:
the conversion of pyruvic acid to acetyl CoA
INPUT OUTPUT
2 Breakdown of the fuel
(from generates NADH (to citric
glycolysis) acid cycle)
 
NAD+ NADH
CoA

1 Pyruvic acid Acetic 3 Acetic acid

loses a carbon acid attaches to Acetyl CoA
Pyruvic acid as CO2 coenzyme A
CO2 Coenzyme A
Conversion of pyruvic acid to acetyl CoA
Stage 2: The Citric Acid Cycle

 The citric acid cycle finishes extracting the

energy of sugar by dismantling the acetic
acid molecules all the way down to CO2.
1. Acetic acid joins a four-carbon acceptor
molecule to form a six-carbon product called
citric acid (for which the cycle is named). For
every acetic acid molecule that enters the cycle
as fuel,
2. two CO2 molecules eventually exit as a waste
product. Along the way, the citric acid cycle
harvests energy from the fuel.
 The Details of the Kreb’s Cycle

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The Details of the Kreb’s Cycle
 Stage 2: The Citric Acid Cycle

– Some of the energy is used to produce ATP

directly.
– Most energy also captured as
 NADH
 FADH2.

© – All the carbon atoms that entered the cycle as fuel

2016 are accounted for as CO2 exhaust, and the four-
Pear carbon acceptor molecule is recycled.
son
Educ
ation
, Inc.
 INPUT OUTPUT
Citric
acid

1 Acetic
acid 2
2 CO2

ADP + P ATP 3
Citric
Acid
Cycle  
3 NAD+ 3 NADH 4

 
FAD FADH2 5

6
Acceptor
molecule
 Electron-Transport System

 NADH and FADH2 release the electrons they

received during glycolysis and the Kreb’s
cycle to the electron transport chain (ETC).
 The proteins of the ETC transfer the
electrons and use the energy released to
pump protons.
– Protons are pumped from the matrix to the
intermembrane space.
– Creates a concentration gradient

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 Electron-Transport System

 Oxygen is the final electron

acceptor at the end of the
ETC.
– Oxygen accepts the
electrons, combines with
protons and becomes
water.
 The accumulated protons
diffuse back into the matrix
through ATP synthase.
 The energy released
from the diffusion
fuels the formation of
ATP.
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 The Details of the Electron
Transport System

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A Chemiosmotic Mechanism Produces ATP (Part 1)
How electron transport drives ATP synthase machines

H+
+ H+
H+
H+ +
H+ 5 H

+ 2 H+
1O
2 2 H 2O 6
4
ADP+ P ATP
H+ H+

ATP
synthase
The Results of Cellular
Respiration

 Cellular respiration can generate up to 32

molecules of ATP per molecule of glucose.
A summary of ATP yield during cellular
respiration
Cytoplasm

Mitochondrion
     
6 NADH
2 NADH 2 NADH
 
2 FADH2

Glycolysis
2 2 
Glucose Pyruvic Acetyl Citric 
CoA Acid Electron
acid Transport Chain
Cycle Maximum
per
glucose:

2 2 About About
ATP ATP 28 ATP 32 ATP

by direct by direct
by ATP
synthesis synthesis
synthase
 Total Yields for Aerobic Cellular
Respiration per Glucose Molecule

 Glycolysis
– 2 ATP
– 2 NADH (converted to 2 FADH2)
 Kreb’s cycle
– 2 ATP
– 8 NADH
– 2 FADH2
 Electron transport chain
– Each NADH fuels the formation of 2.5 ATP.
 8 NADH x 2.5 ATP = 20 ATP
– Each FADH2 fuels the formation of 1.5 ATP.
 4 FADH2 x 1.5 ATP = 6 ATP
 Total ATP=2+2+20+6=30 ATP made from the metabolism of
one glucose molecule.
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 Aerobic Respiration
in Prokaryotes

 Very similar to aerobic respiration in eukaryotes

 Since prokaryotes have no mitochondria, it all occurs in the
cytoplasm.
 Makes 2 more ATP because the NADH from glycolysis isn’t
converted to FADH2

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 Anaerobic Cellular Respiration

 Some organisms do not have the enzymes for

Kreb’s cycle or the electron transport system.
 Some organisms can metabolize glucose in the
absence of oxygen.
 Metabolizing glucose in the absence of oxygen is
called anaerobic respiration.
– Involves the incomplete oxidation of glucose
– Fermentation is an anaerobic pathway that uses an organic
molecule as the final electron acceptor.

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 Anaerobic Cellular Respiration

 Anaerobic respiration usually starts with

glycolysis.
– Glucose is metabolized into pyruvic acid.
– 2 ATP are made.
 The fermentation reactions oxidize NADH to
regenerate the NAD+ that is needed in
glycolysis.
– In the process, pyruvic acid is reduced to either
lactic acid or ethanol or another organic molecule.

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 Types of Fermentation

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 Alcoholic Fermentation

 Starts with glycolysis

– Glucose is metabolized to pyruvic
acid.
– A net of 2 ATP is made.
 During alcoholic fermentation
– Pyruvic acid is reduced to form
ethanol.
– Carbon dioxide is released.
 Yeasts do this
– Leavened bread
– Sparkling wine

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Figure 6.16
 Lactic Acid Fermentation

 Starts with glycolysis

– Glucose is metabolized to pyruvic acid.
– A net of 2 ATP is made.
 During lactic acid fermentation
– Pyruvic acid is reduced to form lactic acid.
– No carbon dioxide is released.
 Muscle cells have the enzymes to do this, but brain
cells do not.
– Muscle cells can survive brief periods of oxygen deprivation,
but brain cells cannot.
– Lactic acid “burns” in muscles.
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 Metabolizing Other Molecules

 Cells will use the energy in carbohydrates first.

– Complex carbohydrates are metabolized into
simple sugars.
 Cells can use the energy in fats and proteins as well.
– Fats are digested into fatty acids and glycerol.
– Proteins are digested into amino acids.
 Cells must convert fats and proteins into molecules
that can enter and be metabolized by the enzymes
of glycolysis or the Kreb’s cycle.

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 Fat Respiration

 Fats are broken down into

– Glycerol
– Fatty acids
 Glycerol
– Converted to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
– Enters glycolysis
 Fatty acids
– Converted to acetylCoA
– Enter the Kreb’s cycle
 Each molecule of fat fuels the formation of many
more ATP than glucose.
– This makes it a good energy storage molecule.
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 Protein Respiration

 Proteins are digested into amino acids.

 Then amino acids have the amino group
removed.
– Generates a keto acid (acetic acid, pyruvic acid,
etc.)
– Enter the Kreb’s cycle at the appropriate place

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Respiration is a versatile metabolic furnace that can
“burn” many other kinds of food molecules.

Food

Carbohydrates Fats Proteins

SugarsGlycerolFatty acids Amino acids


Acetyl Citric 
Glycolysis Acid
CoA 
Cycle Electron
Transport Chain

ATP
some metabolic routes for the use of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins as fuel for
cellular respiration
The Interconversion of Fats, Carbohydrates and
Proteins

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 The Bottom Line

 Carbohydrates, fats and proteins can all be

used for energy.
– Glycolysis and the Kreb’s cycle allow these types
of molecules to be interchanged.
 If more calories are consumed than used
– The excess food will be stored.
– Once the organism has all of the proteins it needs
 And its carbohydrate stores are full
 The remainder will be converted to and stored as fat.
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  Why do most food chains involve only three
or at the most four tropic levels?
– Through glycolysis, heterotrophs capture only
3.5% of energy of the autotrophs they consume.
– 32% by aerobic respiration

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