Respiration in Plants

Define Respiration

Types of Respiration

1) Aerobic Respiration
2) Anaerobic Respiration
Glycolysis

Significance of Glycolysis
 Fermentation/Anaerobic Respiration in Plants
Krebs Cycle
○ Significance of ATP

Electron Transport Chain (ETC) and Oxidative Phosphorylation

○ Significance of ETC

● Amphibolic Pathway

● Respiratory Quotient

● Factors affecting Respiration in Plants

Cellular respiration is the mechanism of oxidative break down of food materials within the
cell to release energy and the trapping of this energy for the synthesis of ATP.
Organisms can be grouped into the following four classes on the basis of their
respiratory habit
● Obligate aerobes : These organisms can respire only in the presence of
oxygen. Thus, oxygen is essential for their survival (e.g., bacterium Bacillus
subtilis).
● Facultative anaerobes : Such organisms usually respire aerobically (i.e., in
the presence of oxygen) but under certain conditions may also respire
anaerobically (e.g., Yeast, parasites of the alimentary canal).
● Obligate anaerobes : These organisms normally respire anaerobically. Such
organisms are in fact killed in the presence of substantial amounts of oxygen
(e.g., Clostridium botulinum and C. tetani).
● Facultative aerobes : These are primarily anaerobic organisms but under
certain conditions may also respire aerobically (e.g., yeast).
GLYCOLYSIS
○ The term glycolysis has originated from the Greek words, glycos for sugar, and lysis for
splitting.
○ The scheme of glycolysis was given by Gustav Embden, Otto Meyerhof, and J. Parnas, and is
often referred to as the EMP pathway.
○ Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell and it is the only process in anaerobic organisms.
○ Glycolysis is the process in which glucose, derived from sucrose, undergoes partial oxidation to
form two molecules of pyruvic acid.
○ Glucose and fructose are phosphorylated to give rise to glucose-6- phosphate by the activity of
the enzyme hexokinase.
○ Glucose-6- phosphate isomerises to produce fructose-6-phosphate by phosphogluco
isomerase.
○ Fructose-6-phosphate converts to fructose 1,6, bisphosphate by phosphofructokinase-1.
○ The fructose 1, 6-diphosphate is split into dihydroxyacetone phosphate and
3-phosphoglyceraldehyde (PGAL) by the enzyme triose phosphate isomerase.
○ Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate is converted to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate by the
enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.
○ 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate is converted to 3-phosphoglycerate by the enzyme
phosphoglycerate kinase.
○ 3-phosphoglycerate is converted to 2-phosphoglycerate by the enzyme
phophoglyceromutase.
○ Enolase converts 2-phosphoglycerate to phosphoenol pyruvate.
○ Pyruvate kinase converts phosphoenol pyruvate to pyruvate.
○ ATP is utilised at two steps: first in the conversion of glucose into glucose
6-phosphate and second in the conversion of fructose 6-phosphate to fructose 1,
6-diphosphate.
○ When 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde (PGAL) is converted to 1, 3-bisphosphoglycerate
(DPGA),

NADH + H+ is formed from NAD+.

○ Coversion of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate and phosphoenol pyruvate to

3-phosphoglycerate and pyruvate, respectively, are energy-yielding process, where
energy is trapped by the formation of ATP.
○ There are three major ways in which different cells handle pyruvic acid produced by
glycolysis. These are lactic acid fermentation, alcoholic fermentation and aerobic
respiration.
○ Fermentation is anaerobic respiration, whereas organisms adopt Krebs’ cycle which
is also called as aerobic respiration.
TRICARBOXYLIC ACID CYCLE
○ Kreb’s cycle takes place in the mitochondrial matrix.
○ Several intermediate compounds are formed, which contain three carboxylic groups and
therefore the process is called as tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA).
○ First, the condensation of acetyl group with oxaloacetic acid (OAA) and water takes place to
yield citric acid, catalysed by the enzyme citrate synthase and a molecule of CoA is released.
○ Citrate is then isomerised to isocitrate, which is followed by two successive steps of
decarboxylation, leading to the formation of α-ketoglutaric acid and then succinyl-CoA.
○ Succinyl-CoA is oxidised to OAA allowing the cycle to continue and during the conversion of
succinyl-CoA to succinic acid a molecule of GTP is synthesised.
○ In a coupled reaction, GTP is converted to GDP with the simultaneous synthesis of ATP from
ADP.
○ During the process, 8NADH2, 2FADH2, 2 GTPs are formed.
ELECTRON TRANSPORT SYSTEM
○ The metabolic pathway through which the electron passes from one carrier
to another, is called the electron transport system (ETS).
○ Electron transport system takes place in inner mitochondrial membrane.
○ Electron transport chain comprises of the following:
○ Complex I: NADH dehydrogenase
○ Complex II: succinate dehydrogenase
○ Complex III: cytochromes bc1
○ Complex IV: cytochromes a-a3
○ Complex V: ATP synthase
○
○ NADH2 is oxidized by NADH dehydrogenase and electrons are then transferred to
ubiquinone located in the inner mitochondrial membrane.
○ FADH2 is oxidized by succinate dehydrogenase and transferred electrons to
ubiquinone.
○ The reduced ubiquinone is then oxidized with transfer of electrons via cytochromes
bc1 complex to cytochrome c.
○ Cytochrome c is a small protein attached to the outer surface of the inner
membrane and transfer electrons from complex III to complex IV.
○ When electrons transferred from one carrier to another via complex I to complex IV,
they are coupled to ATP synthesis of ATP from ADP and Pi.
○ Oxygen plays a vital role in removing electrons and hydrogen ion and finally helps
in the production of H2
FERMENTATION
○ Fermentation is the incomplete oxidation of glucose under anaerobic conditions by sets of
reactions.
○ Fermentation is of two types
○ Alcohol fermentation
○ Lactic acid fermentation.
○ In alcohol fermentation, pyruvic acid is converted to CO2 and ethanol by pyruvic acid
decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase.
Glucose -> 2 Ethyl alcohol + 2NADH2 + 2ATP

○ In lactic acid fermentation, lactic acid is produced from pyruvic acid by lactate dehydrogenase.
Glucose -> 2 Lactic acid + 2 ATP.

○ In eukaryotes, these steps take place within the mitochondria and this requires O2.
THE RESPIRATORY BALANCE SHEET
○ The net gain of ATP for every glucose molecule oxidised can be calculated based
on the following assumptions:
○ There is a sequential, orderly pathway functioning, with one substrate forming the
next and with glycolysis, TCA cycle and ETS pathway following one after another.
○ The NADH synthesised in glycolysis is transferred into the mitochondria and
undergoes oxidative phosphorylation.
○ None of the intermediates in the pathway are utilised to synthesise any other
compound.
○ Only glucose is being respired.
○ There can be a net gain of 36 ATP molecules during aerobic respiration of one
molecule of glucose.
Fig. Respiratory balance sheet
AMPHIBOLIC PATHWAY
○ Amphibolic pathway is the one which involves both anabolism and catabolism.
○ Krebs cycle is a classic example of amphibolic pathway.
○ Krebs cycle involves both the catabolism of carbohydrates and fatty acids and the
anabolism of amino acids.
○ Fats should be broken into glycerol and fatty acid, and if fatty acids were to be respired
they would first be degraded to acetyl CoA and enter the pathway after being converted
to PGAL.
○ Glycerol enter the pathway after it is converted to PGAL.
○ The proteins would be degraded by proteases and the individual amino acids
depending on their structure would enter the pathway at some stage within the Krebs
cycle.
○ Fatty acids would be broken down to acetyl CoA before entering the respiratory
pathway when it is used as a substrate.
○ But when the organism needs to synthesize fatty acids, acetyl CoA would be withdrawn
from the respiratory pathway for it.
○ Respiratory pathway can be seen during both breakdown and synthesis of fatty acids.