Glycolysis

➢ (EMP or Hexose Bisphosphate Pathway)

➢ Glycolysis term is originated from 2 greek words
‘Glycos’; sweet and ‘lysis’ ; breakdown.

➢ It is also known as EMP pathway as scheme of glycolysis

was discovered by three German biochemists named
Gustav Embden, Meyerhof and Parnas who studied and
explained this mechanism.
➢ A series of complex reactions controlled by different enzymes
in which partial oxidation of a carbohydrate (such as glucose)
occurs with the production of pyruvic acid and energy stored
in high-energy phosphate bonds of ATP
➢ Process occurs in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
➢ Glycolysis start from glycogen in case of animals and from
starch/sucrose in case of plants.
➢ Independent of oxygen i.e it occurs in both aerobic and
anaerobic respiration (Glycolysis is the only process in
respiration of anaerobic organisms).
➢ Breakdown of starch results in the formation of
hexoses that enters in glycolytic pathway.

➢ It takes place in cytoplasm because the enzymes

required for the breakdown of glucose are present
there.

➢ Only one reaction occurs in vacuole as well as cytosol

that is conversion of pyruvate from PEP. Enzyme used
here is phosphatase that is present in vacuole.
Main steps of Glycolytic pathway

a. Phosphorylation of glucose (1st )

b. Isomerization
c. Phosphorylation of fructose 6 phosphate (2nd )
d. Cleavage
e. Oxidative dehydrogenation
f. Isomerization
g. Dehydration
h. Generation and usage of energy in the form of
ATP
 Biochemistry of glycolysis
i. Preparatory phase:
It consists of initial stages of oxidation reduction reactions
in which glucose is enyzmatically phosphorylated by ATP to
produce Fructose-1,6 bisphosphate. This phase can be further
described in following steps:

a. Phosphorylation of glucose:

The first step in glycolysis is the conversion of D-glucose

into glucose-6-phosphate. The enzyme that catalyzes this reaction
is hexokinase.
 First Phosphorylation

Phosphorylation:
“The process of adding a phosphate group to a molecule derived from

ATP. As a result, at this point in glycolysis, 1 molecule of ATP has been

consumed”
b. Isomerization of G-6-P:
Rearrangement of glucose 6-phosphate (G-6-P) into fructose 6-
phosphate (F-6-P) by glucose phosphate isomerase enzyme
(Phosphohexose Isomerase).
 Second Phosphorylation
c. Phosphorylation of F-6-P:

Phosphofructokinase, with magnesium as a cofactor, changes

fructose 6-phosphate into fructose 1,6-bisphosphate.
Summary of preparatory phase
 Oxidative Phase
• Different steps are involved in oxidative phase of
glycolysis. These are as follows:

a. Cleavage of F-1,6 bisphosphate:

The enzyme Aldolase splits fructose 1, 6-bisphosphate

into two sugars that are isomers of each other. These
two sugars are dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP)
and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (GAP).
Cleavage phase
b. Dehydrogenation of Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate:
The enzyme phosphotriose isomerase rapidly
inter- converts the molecules dihydroxyacetone
phosphate (DHAP) and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate
(GAP). Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase
(GAPDH) dehydrogenates and adds an inorganic
phosphate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, producing
1,3-bisphosphoglycerate (energy conserving phase) by
the reduction of NAD+.
c. Dephosphorylation of 1,3 bisphosphoglyceric
acid:

Phosphoglycerate kinase transfers a phosphate group from

1,3-bisphosphoglycerate to ADP to form ATP and 3-
phosphoglycerate.
d. Isomerization of 3 phosphoglyceric acid:
The enzyme phosphoglycerate mutase relocates the
phosphate group from 3- phosphoglycerate from the 3rd
carbon to the 2nd carbon of 2-phosphoglycerate.
A mutase is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of
a functional group from one position on a molecule
to another.
e. Formation of phosphoenol pyruvate:

The enzyme enolase removes a molecule of water from

2-phosphoglycerate to form phosphoenolpyruvic acid
(PEP).

f. Formation of Pyruvate:

The enzyme pyruvate kinase transfers a phosphate

group from phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to ADP to form
pyruvic acid and ATP
 Energy Balance of Glycolysis
i. 2 molecules of Pyruvate are formed.

ii. 2 molecules of ATP are consumed and 4 are generated so net

ATP formed will be 2.

iii. 2 molecules of NADH2 are produced that are equivalent to 4

ATP molecules.

Point to remember

1 cytosolic NADH2 is equal to 2 ATP molecules.

➢ So the net gain of ATP in glycolysis is 6 ATP.