The need for energy in living organisms

- require a continuous supply of energy to stay alive, either from the absorption of light energy or from chemical potential energy
- light energy to chemical potential energy
- Photosynthesis supplies living organisms with two essential requirements: an energy supply and usable carbon compounds.
- Autotrophs - can use an inorganic carbon source
- Heterotrophs - needs ready-made organic supply
- Organic molecules - ‘building bricks’and can be released by breaking down the molecules in respiration
Respiration
- process of breaking down organic molecules to harvest chemical energy
- most efficiently done in the presence of oxygen to make an important molecule called ATP
- Respiration consists of 4 steps: glycolysis, pyruvate oxidation, the Kreb’s cycle and the electron transport chain.
Glucose
- compound most often used to generate cellular energy
- glucose molecule is completely oxidized, releasing high energy electrons
- The glucose molecule itself is broken down into carbon dioxide and water, and during this process, ATP is produced.

Work
Work in a living organism includes:
o synthesis of complex substances from simpler ones
o active transport of substances against a diffusion gradient
o mechanical work movement and the movement of vesicles through cytoplasm
o bioluminescence and electrical discharge

 thermal energy (heat) that is released from metabolic reactions

 energy released from each step of respiration could be harnessed directly to some form of work in the cell

ATP
ATP as energy ‘currency’
- principal molecule for storing and transferring energy in cells
- 3 phosphate groups attached to an adenosine molecule
- used to store energy for future reactions and can provide an immediate source of energy for reactions needed by the cell
- hydrolysis - one of the phosphate groups is removed
- ATP is converted to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and energy is released
- when a second phosphate is removed from ADP to form adenosine monophosphate (AMP)
Synthesis of ATP
TWO WAYS:
1) In respiration
- energy released by reorganizing chemical bonds (chemical potential energy) during glycolysis and the Krebs cycle is
used to make some ATP.
2) Generated using electrical potential energy
- transfer of electrons by electron carriers in mitochondria and chloroplasts
- stored as a difference in proton (hydrogen ion) concentration across some phospholipid membranes in mitochondria
and chloroplasts, which are essentially impermeable to protons
ATP synthase
- acts as an enzyme that synthesises ATP
chemiosmosis
- transfer of three protons allows the production of one ATP molecule, provided that ADP and an inorganic phosphate group (P i)
are available inside the organelle. This process occurs in both mitochondria and chloroplasts. The process was first proposed
by Peter Mitchell in 1961

The role of ATP in active transport

- Active transport is the movement of molecules or ions across a partially permeable membrane against a concentration gradient.
 - sodium pumps in the cell surface membrane that pump sodium ions out of the cell
- pump potassium ions from the surrounding solution into the cell.
- Changes in the shape of the protein move sodium and potassium ions across the membrane in opposite directions

Respiration
- Respiration is a process in which organic molecules act as a fuel.
- broken down in a series of stages to release chemical potential energy, which is used to synthesise ATP
four stages:
glycolysis, the link reaction, the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation
The glycolytic pathway
- Glycolysis
o is the splitting, or lysis, of glucose
o Six carbon atoms is eventually split into two molecules of pyruvate, each with three carbon atoms.
o takes place in the cytoplasm
- Phosphorylation
o Glucose is phosphorylated using ATP
o energy must first be used to make the reaction easier
o Two ATP molecules are used for each molecule of glucose to make fi rst glucose phosphate, then fructose phosphate,
then fructose bisphosphate, which breaks down to produce two molecules of triose phosphate. Hydrogen is then
removed from triose phosphate and transferred to the carrier molecule NAD
o Th e end-product of glycolysis, pyruvate, still contains a great deal of chemical potential energy.
The link reaction
- pyruvate is converted to acetyl CoA in the matrix of the energy-transferring mitochondria
- occurs in the mitochondrial matrix, and converts pyruvate into the two-carbon molecule acetyl CoA by removing carbon dioxide
and hydrogen, through the process of decarboxylation. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen are removed from two pyruvate
molecules, producing two acetyl groups.
The Krebs cycle
- The acetyl CoA made in the last step combines with a four-carbon molecule and goes through a cycle of reactions, ultimately
regenerating the four-carbon starting molecule. ATP, are produced, and carbon dioxide is released.
Oxidative phosphorylation and the electron transport chain
- The NADH and FADH2 made in other steps deposit their electrons in the electron transport chain, turning back into their
"empty" forms (NAD+ and FAD). As electrons move down the chain, energy is released and used to pump protons out of the
matrix, forming a gradient. Protons flow back into the matrix through an enzyme called ATP synthase, making ATP. At the end
of the electron transport chain, oxygen accepts electrons and takes up protons to form water.

Glycolysis can take place without oxygen in a process called fermentation. The other three stages of cellular respiration—pyruvate
oxidation, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation—require oxygen in order to occur. Only oxidative phosphorylation uses
oxygen directly, but the other two stages can't run without oxidative phosphorylation.
Each stage of cellular respiration is covered in more detail in other articles and videos on the site. Try watching the overview video, or
jump straight to an article on a particular stage by using the links above.
Hydrogen carrier molecules
- purpose is to get those electrons/ions to the ETC where they can be used to make ATP. Since the NADHs are dropped at the
first protein complex, the hydrogen ions that it brings in go through active transport in 3 proteins, making 3 ATP for every NADH.

Mitochondrial structure and function

- Mitochondria are organelles whose membranes are specialized for aerobic respiration.
- The matrix of the mitochondria is the site of Krebs Cycle reactions.
- The electron transport chain and most ATP synthesis rely on the compartments created by the inner membrane of the
mitochondria.

Mitochondria
- aerobic phases of cellular respiration in eukaryotes occur within organelles
- Krebs Cycle and the electron transport chain
- The Krebs Cycle takes place within the matrix. The compartments are critical for the electron transport chain structure and
function. Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell, with the products of glycolysis entering the mitochondria to continue cellular
respiration.
Mitochondrial Compartments
The double membrane nature of the mitochondria results in five distinct compartments, each with an important role in cellular respiration.
These compartments are:

1. the outer mitochondrial membrane,

2. the intermembrane space (the space between the outer and inner membranes),
3. the inner mitochondrial membrane,
4. the cristae (formed by infoldings of the inner membrane), and
5. the matrix (space within the inner membrane).
The roles of these compartments in cellular respiration include:

1. the outer mitochondrial membrane: allows for the establishment of the inter membrane space,
2. the intermembrane space: holds protons that are pumped out of the matrix during electron transport,
3. the inner mitochondrial membrane: organizes the electron transport chain and holds ATP synthase,
4. the cristae: expand the surface area of the inner mitochondrial membrane, enhancing its ability to produce ATP, and
5. the matrix: site of ATP synthesis and the location of the Krebs cycle.

Respiration without oxygen

Anaerobic cellular respiration
- electrons extracted from a fuel molecule are passed through an electron transport chain, driving ATP synthesis
- Some organisms use sulfate as the final electron acceptor at the end of the transport chain, sulfur, or one of a variety of other
molecules
- Some prokaryotes—bacteria and archaea—that live in low-oxygen environments rely on anaerobic respiration to break down
fuels.
Fermentation
- only energy extraction pathway is glycolysis, with one or two extra reactions tacked on at the end
- pyruvate made in glycolysis does not continue through oxidation and the citric acid cycle, and the electron transport chain does
not run
- NADH made in glycolysis cannot drop its electrons off there to turn back into NAD+
- regenerate the electron carrier NAD+ from the NADH produced in glycolysis
- drop its electrons off with an organic molecule allows glycolysis to keep running by ensuring a steady supply of NAD+
Lactic acid fermentation
- NADH transfers its electrons directly to pyruvate, generating lactate as a byproduct
- EXAMPLE:
o bacteria that make yogurt
o red blood cells in your body, which don’t have mitochondria and thus can’t perform cellular respiration
Alcohol fermentation
- NADH donates its electrons to a derivative of pyruvate, producing ethanol
- Going from pyruvate to ethanol is a two-step process. In the first step, a carboxyl group is removed from pyruvate and released
in as carbon dioxide, producing a two-carbon molecule called acetaldehyde. In the second step, NADH passes its electrons to
acetaldehyde, regenerating NAD+ and forming ethanol.

Connections between cellular respiration and other pathways

How carbohydrates enter the pathway
- Glycolysis or breaking a glucose polymer down into individual glucose molecules
- glycogen will be broken down into phosphate-bearing glucose molecules, which can easily enter glycolysis
- Non-glucose monosaccharides can also enter glycolysis
 - When this sugar is broken down, the fructose can easily enter glycolysis: addition of a phosphate group turns it into fructose-6-
phosphate, the third molecule in the glycolysis pathway because it enters so close to the top of the pathway, fructose yields the
same number of ATP as glucose during cellular respiration
How proteins enter the pathway
- break them down into amino acids
- some amino acids will get broken down for energy via cellular respiration
- amino acids must first have their amino group removed. This step makes ammonia as a waste product, and in humans and
other mammals, the ammonia is converted to urea and removed from the body in urine.
- Once they’ve been de-aminated, different amino acids enter the cellular respiration pathways at different stages
How lipids enter the pathway
- broken down into two components that enter the cellular respiration pathways at different stages
- triglyceride is made up of a three-carbon molecule called glycerol, and of three fatty acid tails attached to the glycerol. Glycerol
can be converted to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, an intermediate of glycolysis, and continue through the remainder of the
cellular respiration breakdown pathway.
- Fatty acids, on the other hand, must be broken down in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the
mitochondria. In beta-oxidation, the fatty acid tails are broken down into a series of two-carbon units that combine with
coenzyme A, forming acetyl CoA. This acetyl CoA feeds smoothly into the citric acid cycle.