Cellular respiration

Cellular respiration is a set of metabolic reactions and processes that take place
in the cells of organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into
adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and then release waste products. The reactions
involved in respiration are catabolic reactions, which break large molecules into
smaller ones, releasing energy in the process, as weak so-called "high-energy"
bonds are replaced by stronger bonds in the products. Respiration is one of the key
ways a cell releases chemical energy to fuel cellular activity. Cellular respiration is
considered an exothermic redox reaction which releases heat.
The energy supply
Types of muscles
1- Smooth muscle
2- Skeletal muscle
3- Cardiac muscle
Types of nutrition
1- Autotrphic
2- Heterotrphic
Cellular respiration transfer energy from chemical bonds in the food to phosphate
bonds in the ATP . glucose is oxidized in the presence of oxygen , the reaction is
catalyzed by ATPase enzyme and is reversible ( bonds can be made again )
formula

ATP is broken by hydrolysis as follows

a. The third phosphate bond is broken releasing 34 Kj for every mole (ADP
results )
b. The second phosphate bond is broken releasing 30.5KJ ( AMP results )
c. The first phosphate bond is broken releasing .

NB about rigor mortis ; as long as raw materials making ATP are present , ATP is
made , but once the raw materials are used up the cellular respiration stops .Once
ATP production stops the muscles lock solid .

The released energy is used in

1. Heat
2. Biological activities requiring energy
ATP is made through series of oxidation and reduction in the electron transport
chain .
Oxidation : removal of electrons , addition of oxygen , removal of hydrogen
Reduction : addition of electrons , removal of oxygen , addition of hydrogen
Glycolysis and kreb s cycle
Cellular respiration is two stages :
1. Glycolysis
2. Kreb s cycle
Glycolysis
It is a metabolic pathway that takes place in the cytoplasm of cells . this pathway
functions with or without the presence of oxygen . it produces pyruvate at the
end .

During cellular respiration hydrogen is removed from compounds and picked up

by hydrogen carriers ( hydrogen acceptors ) .
The most common hydrogen acceptor is NAD ( nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide )which is a coenzyme , which when it accepts hydrogen it becomes
reduced NAD .
FAD ( flavin adenine di nucleotide ) is also a hydrogen carrier and a coenzyme
which accepts hydrogen from reduced NAD and becomes reduced FAD .
1. The first step in glycolysis is phosphorylation of glucose
To form glucose 6-phosphate (G6P).
This reaction consumes ATP, and acts :

1) to keep the glucose concentration low, promoting continuous transport of

glucose into the cell through the plasma membrane transporters.
2) it blocks the glucose from leaking out the cell lacks transporters for G6P,
and free diffusion out of the cell is prevented due to the charged nature of G6P.
NB Glucose may alternatively be formed from the phosphorolysis or hydrolysis
of intracellular starch or glycogen.
2. G6P is then rearranged into fructose 6-Phosphate.
3. Fructose 6 phosphate is then split into two molecules of 3 carbon
compound , glyceraldehyde 3 phosphate (GALP )
4. GALP is converted into pyruvate ( pyruvic acid
5. During these reactions ATP is produced . 3 molecules of ATP from each 3c
sugar passing through glycolysis .
6. Also some ATP made when ) 3c sugar is converted to pyruvate
7. If
a. we have plenty of oxygen , the pyruvate will enter mitochondria
and be used in aerobic respiration ( Krebs cycle )
b. insufficient oxygen , the pyruvate is converted into either ethanol
or lactic acid as used in anaerobic respiration
8. Phosphofructokinase enzyme is the most important enzyme that controls
these reactions and is affected by ATP ( its substrate ) . when a lot of substrate , ATP
, builds up the reactions of glycolysis start to slow down . this controlled by
regulatory enzymes .
The overall process of glycolysis is:
Glucose + 2 NAD+ + 2 ADP + 2 Pi 2 Pyruvate + 2 NADH + 2 H+ + 2 ATP + 2
H 2O

Krebs cycle

The diagram shows how this part of respiration is an ever-repeating cycle which
produces ATP and gives off CO2. The ATP is a molecule which carries energy in
chemical form to be used in other cell processes. To summarize:

Two molecules of carbon dioxide are given off

5

One molecule of ATP is formed

Three molecules of NAD+ are combined with hydrogen (NAD+ NADH)

One molecule of FAD combines with hydrogen (FAD FADH 2)

NB
Because two acetyl-CoA molecules are produced from each glucose molecule,
two cycles are required per glucose molecule. Therefore, at the end of two cycles,
the products are: two ATP, six NADH2, two FADH2 and four CO2.
An electron transport chain (ETC) is a series of compounds 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.
This creates an electrochemical proton gradient that drives the synthesis of
adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that stores energy chemically in the form
of highly strained bonds.
The molecules of the chain include peptides, enzymes (which are proteins or protein
complexes), and others. The final acceptor of electrons in the electron transport
chain during aerobic respiration is molecular oxygen although a variety of acceptors
other than oxygen exist in anaerobic respiration.