Metabolism

• Metabolism (metabol= Change) refers to all the chemical

reactions that occur in the body.
• There are two types of metabolism:
• Catabolism (cata= downward) are those chemical reactions
that break down complex organic molecules into simpler
ones. They are exergonic (energy releasing) reactions. e.g,
The conversion of glycogen into glucose (glucogenesis)
• Anabolism (ana= upward) are those chemical reactions that
combine simpler molecules or monomers to form larger and
complex molecules. They are endergonic (energy
requiring) reactions.
e.g, the formation of glycogen (glycogenesis) from glucose
molecules
 ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)
• Def: A compound consisting of an adenosine
molecule attached to three phosphate groups,
present in all living tissues is called ATP. The breakage
of one phosphate linkage give ADP i-e adenosine
diphosphate provides energy for physiological
processes such as muscular cotraction.
• ATP is also consider the energy currency for life.
• ATP is present in the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm of
of every cell

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• anabolism is enzyme controlled synthesis
reaction in the body e.g protien synthesis or
photosynthesis.
• catabiolism is enzyme controlled degradation
reaction e.g digestion.
• the sum total of anabiolic + catabolic raections
= Metabolism

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• Anabolic reactions require energy as ATP to form
chemical bond while Catabolic reactions release
energy as ATP when chemical bonds are broken.
• ATP consist of a molecule of Adenosine with three
inorganic phosphate (Pi) attached in a chain.
i-e ATP>ADP+Pi+Energy
this reaction is reversible and energy releasing
reactions will cause the buildup of ATP from ADP+Pi

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 4
ATP: Energy Storage
WHAT IS ATP?
• Universal Energy
Molecule
• The cell’s “Energy
Bank”
• Adenosine
Triphosphate (ATP)
• Consist of
– a sugar called ribose
– N containing Adenine
– Three phosphate
groups
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 5

ATP
Adenine Ribose 3 Phosphate groups

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 Role of ATP in Coupling Reactions

05/04/24 Figure 5.1

 Deifine...........
• Define the following term:
• glycogenesis
• glycogenolysis
• gluconeogenesis
• glycolysis
• transamination
• deamination
• ketosis

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• Glycogenesis: The process of glycogen synthesis from
glucose molecules is called glycogenesis.
• Glycogenolysis: The process of glycogen breakdown
into glucose molecules is called glycogenolysis.
• Gluconeogenesis: The process of formation of
glucose from new source other than carbohydrate is
called gluconeogenesis. e.g aminoacids and fatty
acids.
• Glycolysis: The process of breakdown of glucose or
glycogen upto pyruvate or lactate is called glycolysis.

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• Transamination: The process of transfer of an amino
group from an amino acid ( glutamate, alanine and
aspartate) to a keto acid ( pyruvate, oxaloacetate and
alpha keto glutarate) is called tranamination.
• Deamination: The process of the removal of amino
group from amino acids which is librated as free
ammonia is called deamination.
• Ketosis: A condition characterized by raised level of
ketone bodies in the body associated with abnormal
fat metabolism and diabetes mellitus is called
ketosis.

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A metabolic pathway is a series of chemical
reactions in a cell that build and breakdown
molecules for cellular processes.
Anabolic pathways synthesize molecules and
require energy. Catabolic pathways break down
molecules and produce energy.

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 Glycolysis is the process of breaking
down glucose.
 Glycolysis can take place with or without
oxygen.
Glycolysis produces two molecules of
pyruvate, two molecules of ATP, two
molecules of NADH, and two molecules of
water.
 Glycolysis takes place in the cytoplasm.
There are 10 enzymes involved in breaking
down sugar.

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The citric acid cycle – also known as the TCA
cycle or the Krebs cycle – is a series of
chemical reactions used by all aerobic
organisms to release stored energy through
the oxidation of acetyl-CoA derived from
carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, into
adenosine triphosphate and carbon dioxide.

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The TCA Cycle
The TCA cycle is a central pathway into which
many metabolites feed. It consists of a
number of reactions which generate NADH
and FADH₂ which can in turn be used by
the oxidative phosphorylation pathway to
generate ATP. The TCA cycle occurs in
the matrix of the mitochondria.

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Steps of the TCA Cycle

The TCA cycle takes place over eight different steps:

Step 1: First the acetyl CoA (a two carbon molecule) joins

with oxaloacetate (4 carbon molecule) to form citrate (6 carbon molecule).

Step 2: The citrate is then converted to isocitrate (isomer of citrate)

Step 3: Isocitrate is then oxidised to alpha-ketoglutarate (a five carbon

molecule) which results in the release of carbon dioxide.
One NADH molecule is also formed in this step.The enzyme responsible
for catalysing this step is isocitrate dehydrogenase. This is a rate
limiting step as isocitrate dehydrogenase is an allosterically controlled
enzyme.

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Step 4: Here alpha-ketoglutarate is oxidised to form a 4
carbon molecule which picks up coenzyme A
forming succinyl CoA. This conversion also forms
a NADH molecule.

Step 5: Succinyl CoA is then converted to succinate (4 carbon

molecule) and one GTP molecule is produced.

Step 6: Succinate is converted into fumarate (4 carbon

molecule) and a molecule of FADH₂ is produced.

Step 7: Fumarate is converted to malate (another 4 carbon

molecule).

Step 8: Malate is then converted

into oxaloacetate and NADH is also produced here.
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It is important to be aware that whilst the primary role of the TCA
cycle is production of NADH and FADH₂ it also produces
molecules that supply various biosynthetic processes, which can
enter or exit the cycle at various points depending on the
demand on different reactions. For example, alpha-
ketoglutarate can leave the cycle to be converted into amino
acids or succinate can be converted to haem.

Each cycle produces two molecules of carbon dioxide, three

molecules of NADH, three hydrogen ions, one molecule
of FADH₂ and one molecule of GTP. As such each molecule of
glucose produces double this
(2 carbon dioxide, 6 NADH, 6 hydrogen ions, 2 FADH₂ and
2 GTP).

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 Electron Transport Chain

An electron transport chain (ETC) is a series of complexes

that transfer electrons from electron donors
to electron acceptors via redox (both reduction and oxidation
occurring simultaneously) reactions, and couples this electron
transfer with the transfer of protons (H+ ions) across a
membrane.

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 Summary
• Bacterial electron transport pathways are, in general,
inducible. Depending on their environment, bacteria
can synthesize different transmembrane complexes
and produce different electron transport chains in
their cell membranes. Bacteria select their electron
transport chains from a DNA library containing
multiple possible dehydrogenases, terminal oxidases
and terminal reductases. The situation is often
summarized by saying that electron transport chains
in bacteria

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