Energy Metabolism Page 1

NOTES IN ZOOLOGY
ENERGY METABOLISM
ACQUIRING AND RELEASING ENERGY (ATP):
Photosynthesis, Glycolysis, Krebs Cycle, Electron Transport Phosphorylation
Metabolism is the sum total of chemical reactions occurring in cells. It includes both the
synthesis of the biomolecules (e.g., protein synthesis, DNA replication, glucose
synthesis in plants) and the degradation of molecules usually for the production of
energy (e.g., glycolysis, Krebs Cycle). Metabolism is carried out by specific enzymes
which catalyze each step of a long series of reactions. The steps in a metabolic
pathway may be linear such as those in glycolysis or cyclic as in the Krebs Cycle or light
independent reactions of photosynthesis. Each of the thousands of enzymes required
for the thousands of metabolic pathways are coded for in our genes. Each enzyme is
specific for its substrates and each produces unique products. Some metabolic
pathways occur in all or most cells and some are specific to the cell type.
All the energy that is required for the synthesis and maintenance of living cells ultimately
comes from the sun. The producers are those organisms which can synthesize their
own biomolecules and enough for the consumers, too. The consumers such as us and
other animals, rely on the metabolic capabilities of the producers. Thus, the
photosynthetic organisms, mainly plants, supply all of the basic biomolecules. The
recyclers, the fungi and bacteria, break down (degrade) the biomolecules of dead
organisms to carbon dioxide, water, and ammonia,.whch are then used by the
producers to make more biomolecules.
All organisms require "food" for two reasons: to use as subunits to build the
biomolecules of the organism and to provide energy (ATP) for the maintenance and
activities of the organism. Energy in the form of ATP is a requirement for all cellular
activities. ATP is produced in the light reactions of photosynthesis (in chloroplasts of
photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms), in glycolysis (in the cytosol of all organisms), and
in aerobic respiration which includes the Krebs Cycle and electron transport
phosphorylation (in the mitochondria of eukaryotic organisms).
Photosynthesis can be summarized in the equation: 12 H
2
O (water) + 6CO
2
(carbon
dioxide) (using light energy 6O
2
(oxygen) + C
6
H
12
O
6
(glucose) + 6H
2
O (water). The
energy of the sun is captured by pigments found in photosynthetic organisms and the
energy is captured in such a way as to produce ATP and reducing power in the form
electrons which are carried by NADPH (a coenzyme), In the process, the photons split
water into free oxygen and the electrons are captured by the coenzyme, NADPH.
NADPH is then used in the light independent (dark) reactions of photosynthesis to
reduce (add H atoms to) carbon dioxide to form glucose and later other middle sized
biomolecules.
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The light reactions of photosynthesis occur in the grana (thylakoid membranes) of the
chloroplasts of eukaryotic cells. Chlorophyll a captures the blue-violet and red
wavelengths of light and chlorophyll b, the blue and red-orange or accessory pigments
capture other wavelengths and pass them to chlorophyll a in the reaction centers. The
pigments are parts of a photosystem. In the light reactions, light photons from the sun,
literally kick electrons of the pigments up to a higher energy level. These higher energy
electrons are passed to chlorophyll a whose electrons are then passed along an
electron transport system (in the grana membranes) and the energy of the electrons is
captured in the form of ATP, and the electrons and H
+
are captured by NADPH. The
electrons captured by NADP are replaced by the splitting of water into free oxygen,
hydrogen ions and electrons (photolysis). All of the oxygen on this planet comes from
the light reactions of photosynthesis.
The light-independent reactions of photosynthesis (or dark reactions) can occur in the
absence of light. They utilize the products of the light reactions, ATP and NADPH to
reduce carbon dioxide and to glucose and then the more complex middle sized
biomolecules. The enzymes that carry out these reactions are in the stroma (liquid)
portion of the chloroplast. Gas exchange in complex plants occurs through the stomata
on the underside of the leaves. Carbon dioxide enters and oxygen leaves via these
pores.
While only some organisms carry out photosynthesis, all cells carry out glycolysis.
Glycolysis literally means the breakdown (lysis) of glucose or glycogen. This series of
reactions is carried out by enzymes that are in the cytosol of the cell. Glucose, a six-
carbon molecule, is broken down to pyruvate, a three-carbon molecule. A net of 2 ATP
molecules per glucose molecule are produced in glycolysis. However, if the cell also is
aerobic (utilizes oxygen), a total of 36 ATP molecules will be produced when glucose is
broken down completely to CO
2
and H
2
O.
In eukaryotic cells the enzymes of the Krebs Cycle take pyruvate and break it down to
CO
2
and water. The enzymes that carry out the Krebs Cycle are in the matrix (fluid)
portion of the mitochondria. In prokaryotic cells, the Krebs Cycle enzymes are in the
cytosol. Two more ATPs are formed as pyruvate is oxidized to carbon dioxide. (The
Krebs Cycle, as the name implies is a cyclic series of reactions unlike those of
glycolysis which are linear.) In the oxidation of pyruvate through the Krebs Cycle, NADH
(a close coenzyme relative of NADPH) is also produced as well as another related
coenzyme, FADH. Both these coenzymes carry hydrogen ions (H
+
) and electrons over
to the inner membrane of the mitochondria where electron transport phosphorylation
occurs. As the electrons are handed down a series of proteins (cytochromes which
contain iron, Fe
++
), ATP is produced and ultimately, at the end of the line, the electrons
are accepted by O
2.
So the oxygen you breathe is the ultimate electron acceptor in
these series of oxidations. The oxygen becomes O
-
and combines with the H
+
to form
H
2
O (metabolic water). In prokaryotic cells, the proteins that perform electron transport
phosphorylation are embedded in the inner side of the plasma membrane. This is
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consistent with the idea that mitochondria originated from aerobic bacteria that were
endocytosed.
The enzymes that carry out all metabolic reactions are protein catalysts. They speed up
the rates of reactions by lowering the energy of activation of the substrate molecules
which they convert to product molecules. Enzymes are proteins and, therefore, are
composed of specific sequences of amino acids which, in turn, are coded for by genes.
Proteins usually have a globular shape and they have "pockets" into which their
substrates fit. In order to carry out their specific reaction, they change their shape to put
"stress" on the bonds they are to break or the pockets can bring parts of the substrate
molecules into the position to react with one another. Because enzymes are proteins,
they are affected by temperature and pH (acidity). Both temperature and pH affect the
structure of the protein and, therefore, their function. High temperatures and extreme
acid base changes denature (inactivate) them, they lose their specific shape and
pockets and can no longer do their job. Most enzymes work best at neutral pH such as
that found in the cytosol. However, some proteins work best in acid environments.
Pepsin, a digestive enzyme, functions in the acid environment of your stomach and the
lysosomal enzymes work only within the acid environment of the lysosome. The
lysosomal enzymes are inactivated if the lysosomal membrane is broken and the
enzymes are released into the cytosol. An example of the effect of temperature is the
pigment pattern of the Siamese cat and Himalayan rabbit. These animals have darker
fur on their extremities because the enzyme that makes the dark pigment works only at
the cooler temperatures found at the animals' extremities. The enzyme is denatured
(inactivated) at the higher temperatures found in the other parts of the animals bodies.