Respiration
Objectives
• Outline the stepwise breakdown of glucose in cellular respiration.
• Explain the sequence of steps in glycolysis.
• Describe the structure of a mitochondrion, relating its structure to its function.
• State the fate of pyruvate in the cytosol when oxygen is available.
• Outline the Kreb Cycle.
• Explain the significance of the Kreb cycle in ATP formation.
• Explain the process of oxidative phosphorylation with reference to the electron
transport chain.
What is respiration?
• Respiration is the process by which chemical energy in organic
molecules is released by oxidation.
• C6H12O6 +6O2 6H2O + 6CO2 + ATP
• This energy is available to the living cells in the form of ATP.
• The biochemical process which occurs within cells is called cell
respiration.
• If the process requires oxygen- aerobic respiration
• If it doesn’t require oxygen- anaerobic respiration
Respiration
• The most common substrates in cell respiration are carbohydrates.
• They are broken down gradually by a series of enzyme-controlled
reactions.
• Each releases a small amount of energy of which is transferred to
molecules of a chemical called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
• The rest of the energy is lost as heat.
• ATP is the energy carrier of cells.
• The energy in the ATP can then be used when required in reactions
in the cell which require energy.
Respiratory substrate
• Carbohydrates- when these are available they are usually used first
by most cells.
• Lipids- these are used mainly when carbohydrates reserves have been
exhausted.
• Protein- since proteins have other essential functions, they are only
used when all carbohydrates and lipid reserves have been used up.
Glycolysis
• Glycolysis is the oxidation of glucose to pyruvate.
• One (1) glucose molecule (six carbon atom 6C) is broken down into
two (2) molecules of pyruvate (3C).
• This takes place in the cytoplasm of cells, not in the mitochondria,
and does not require the presence of oxygen.
• The process is divided into three stages.
Stages of glycolysis
• Phosphorylation of the sugar- this activates the sugar, making it
more reactive. The process uses some ATP.
• Lysis- the phosphorylated 6C sugar is split into two 3C sugar
phosphates. This is the origin of the term glycolysis, which means
sugar splitting.
• Oxidation by dehydrogenation- each 3C sugar phosphate is
converted to pyruvate. This involves dehydrogenation, making a
reduced NAD molecule, and production of two ATP molecules. The
process happens twice, once for each 3C sugar phosphate molecule,
so two reduced NAD and four ATP molecules are made.
Glycolysis outline
glycolysis
• Overall two ATP molecules are used for phosphorylation reactions in
the first stage, whilst four ATP molecules are produced in the third
stage.
• There is a net gain of two ATP molecules.
• Two NADH are also produced.
Fate of pyruvate
• The fate of pyruvate depends on the availability of oxygen in the cell.
• If it is present, pyruvate will enter the mitochondria and will be
completely oxidized into carbon dioxide and water (aerobic reaction).
• If oxygen is not available, pyruvate will be converted into ethanol or
lactate (anaerobic respiration).
Aerobic respiration
• In aerobic respiration, the pyruvate from glycolysis is completely
oxidized to carbon dioxide and water using oxygen.
• In the first stage, pyruvate is broken down to carbon dioxide and
hydrogen. This takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and
involves the Krebs cycle.
• In the second stage, the hydrogen is oxidized by oxygen to water in a
series of reactions called the respiratory chain.
• This takes place on the cristae (inner membranes) of the
mitochondria.
Transition stage between glycolysis and
Krebs cycle.
• Each pyruvate molecule enters the matrix of a mitochondria where it
is converted to an acetyl group. CH3COO-
• These are carried by coenzyme A as acetylcoenzyme a (acetylcoA).
• Acetyl groups have two carbon atoms 2C, so the conversion of
pyruvate (3C) to acetyl (2C) involves loss of carbon.
• This is lost as carbon dioxide in a decarboxylation reaction.
• A dehydrogenation also occurs and, as a result, NAD is reduced.
Krebs cycle
•The krebs cycle is also called the TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid
cycle)and the citric cycle because of the acid it contains.
•The details of the cycle were worked out by sir Hans Krebs.
•The Krebs cycle takes place in the matrix of the
mitochondrion.
Krebs cycle
• The acetyl groups (2C) enter the cycle by combining with a 4C
compound oxaloacetate to form a 6C compound, citrate.
• As the acetyl groups pass around the cycle , the 2carbon atoms are
lost in carbon dioxide in two decarboxylation reactions.
• The hydrogen is added to hydrogen carriers in four dehydrogenation
reactions, resulting in a total of three reduced NAD and one reduced
FAD molecules.
Krebs cycle
• One molecule of ATP is also made directly for every turn of the cycle.
• Two acetyl groups were made from one glucose molecule, so two
turns of the cycle occur per glucose used.
• Oxaloacetate is regenerated at the end of the cycle, ready to accept
another acetyl group.
The equation:
C6H12O6+6H2O 6CO2+4ATP+12H2
Krebs cycle
• The hydrogen is on the hydrogen carriers NAD and FAD.
• All the hydrogen from the original glucose is now on the hydrogen
carriers.
• All the carbon is lost in carbon dioxide
Krebs cycle
The respiratory chain and oxidative
phosphorylation
• The hydrogens (carried as 10 reduced NAD and 2 FAD molecules) now
move to the inner membrane of the mitochondrion.
• This fold is called cristae which increases its surface area.
Phosphorylation
• The purpose of respiration is to produce ATP for the cell to use as an
energy source.
• Initially, it seems as if the contribution from the Krebs cycle is small
because it yields only 2ATP.
• This direct production of ATP is called substrate- level
phosphorylation.
• However, as you will see, all those reduced NADs and reduces FADs
are used to generate a very significant amount of ATP.
Oxidative phosphorylation
• The last stages of aerobic respiration involves oxidative
phosphorylation: the use of oxygen to produce ATP from ADP and Pi.
The electron transport chain
• Held in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion are molecules
called electron carriers.
• They make up the electron transport chain. These carriers are
complex molecules, and include proteins and cytochromes.
• Each reduced NAD molecule (NADH) which was produced in the
matrix during the Krebs cycle releases its hydrogens.
• Each hydrogen atom splits into a hydrogen ion H+ (proton) and an
electron, e-.
The electron transport chain
• The electrons are picked up by the first electron carrier. The carrier is
now reduced, because it has gained an electron.
• The reduced NAD has been oxidized, because it has lost hydrogen.
• The NAD can now go back to the Krebs cycle and be reused as a
coenzyme to pick up hydrogen again.
• The first electron carrier passes its electron to the next in the chain.
As the electron is moved along, it releases energy which is used to
make ATP.
The electron transport chain
• At the end of the electron transport chain, the electron combines
with a hydrogen ion and with oxygen to form water.
• This is why we need oxygen. The oxygen acts as a final electron
acceptor for the electron transport chain.
• Some of the energy is used to pump hydrogen ions across the inner
membrane of the mitochondrion and into the space between the
inner and outer membrane (intermembranal space)
• This builds up a concentration gradient for the hydrogen ions,
because there are more of them on one side of the inner membrane
than other.
Electron transport chain
The electron transport chain
• It is also an electrochemical gradient, because the hydrogen ions H+,
have a positive charge. So there is a greater positive charge on one
side of the membrane than the other.
• This is called electrochemical gradient.
• The hydrogen ions are now allowed to diffuse down this gradient.
• They have to pass through a group of protein molecules in the
membrane that form a special channel for them.
The electron transport chain
• Apart from these channels, the membranes are largely impermeable
to hydrogen ions.
• The channel proteins act as ATPases. As the hydrogen pass through,
the energy that they gained by being actively transported against
their concentration gradient is used to make ATP from ADP and Pi.
• This process is called chemiosmosis
Accounting for the ATP
• For every reduced NAD: 3 ATPs are made
• For every reduced FAD: 2 ATPs are made
Mitochondria
• Each mitochondrion is bounded by two membranes (an envelope),
the outer one being separated from the inner by a narrow space, the
intermembranal space.
• The inner membrane is folded inwards into a number of shelf-like
cristae.
• The cristae increases the surface area providing space for the
components of the respiratory chain which are located in the
membrane.
• Active transport mechanism are responsible for the movement of
ADP and ATP across it.
mitochondria
Anaerobic respiration
• Anaerobic respiration is often referred to as fermentation.
• A variety of organism use anaerobic respiration as their major source
of ATP.
• Some bacteria are actually killed by normal atmospheric levels of
oxygen and have to live where there is no oxygen. They are termed
obligate anaerobes.
Anaerobic respiration
• Other organisms such as yeast and gut parasites can exist with or
without oxygen. These can survive on anaerobic respiration when
they have to, although respire aerobically when possible, and are
called facultative anaerobes.