Overview of metabolism

Overview of metabolic pathways, energy flow in a cell, and anabolism and catabolism.
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Introduction
What’s going on in your body right now? Your first answer might be
that you’re hungry, or that your muscles are sore from a run, or that
you feel tired. But let’s go even deeper, moving past the layer of your
consciousness and looking at what’s going in your cells.

If you could peek inside of any cell in your body, you’d find that it was
a remarkable hub of activity, more like a busy open-air market than a
quiet room. Whether you are awake or sleeping, running or watching
TV, energy is being transformed inside your cells, changing forms as
molecules undergo the connected chemical reactions that keep you
alive and functional.

Overview of metabolism
Cells are constantly carrying out thousands of chemical reactions
needed to keep the cell, and your body as a whole, alive and healthy.
These chemical reactions are often linked together in chains, or
pathways. All of the chemical reactions that take place inside of a cell
are collectively called the cell’s metabolism.

To get a sense of the complexity of metabolism, let's take a look at the

metabolic diagram below. To me, this mess of lines looks like a map of
a very large subway system, or possibly a fancy circuit board. In fact,
it's a diagram of the core metabolic pathways in a eukaryotic cell, such
as the cells that make up the human body. Each line is a reaction, and
each circle is a reactant or product.
 Abstract diagram representing core eukaryotic metabolic networks.
The main point of the diagram is to indicate that metabolism is
complex and highly interconnected, with many different pathways
that feed into one another.
Image credit: "Metabolism diagram," by Zlir'a (public domain).

In the metabolic web of the cell, some of the chemical reactions

release energy and can happen spontaneously (without energy input).
However, others need added energy in order to take place. Just as you
must continually eat food to replace what your body uses, so cells
need a continual inflow of energy to power their energy-requiring
chemical reactions. In fact, the food you eat is the source of the energy
used by your cells!

To make the idea of metabolism more concrete, let's look at two

metabolic processes that are crucial to life on earth: those that build
sugars, and those that break them down.

Breaking down glucose: Cellular

respiration
As an example of an energy-releasing pathway, let’s see how one of
your cells might break down a sugar molecule (say, from that candy
you had for dessert).

Many cells, including most of the cells in your body, get energy from
glucose (\text C_6\text H_{12}\text O_6C6H12O6start text, C, end text,
start subscript, 6, end subscript, start text, H, end text, start subscript,
12, end subscript, start text, O, end text, start subscript, 6, end
subscript) in a process called cellular respiration. During this process,
a glucose molecule is broken down gradually, in many small steps.
However, the process has an overall reaction of:

\text C_6\text H_{12}\text O_6C6H12O6start text, C, end text, start

subscript, 6, end subscript, start text, H, end text, start subscript, 12,
end subscript, start text, O, end text, start subscript, 6, end
subscript + 6\text O_26O26, start text, O, end text, start subscript, 2,
end subscript →→→ 6 \text {CO}_26CO26, start text, C, O, end text,
start subscript, 2, end subscript + 6 \text H_2\text O6H2O6, start text,
H, end text, start subscript, 2, end subscript, start text, O, end
text + \text {energy}energystart text, e, n, e, r, g, y, end text
Breaking down glucose releases energy, which is captured by the cell
in the form of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. ATP is a small
molecule that gives cells a convenient way to briefly store energy.

Once it's made, ATP can be used by other reactions in the cell as an
energy source. Much as we humans use money because it’s easier than
bartering each time we need something, so the cell uses ATP to have a
standardized way to transfer energy. Because of this, ATP is
sometimes described as the “energy currency” of the cell.

Building up glucose: Photosynthesis

As an example of an energy-requiring metabolic pathway, let's flip
that last example around and see how a sugar molecule is built.

Sugars like glucose are made by plants in a process

called photosynthesis. In photosynthesis, plants use the energy of
sunlight to convert carbon dioxide gas into sugar molecules.
Photosynthesis takes place in many small steps, but its overall
reaction is just the cellular respiration reaction flipped backwards:

6 \text {CO}_26CO26, start text, C, O, end text, start subscript, 2, end

subscript + 6 \text H_2\text O6H2O6, start text, H, end text, start
subscript, 2, end subscript, start text, O, end text + \text
{energy}energystart text, e, n, e, r, g, y, end text →→→ \text C_6\text
H_{12}\text O_6C6H12O6start text, C, end text, start subscript, 6, end
subscript, start text, H, end text, start subscript, 12, end subscript,
start text, O, end text, start subscript, 6, end subscript + 6\text O_26O2
6, start text, O, end text, start subscript, 2, end subscript

Like us, plants need energy to power their cellular processes, so some
of the sugars are used by the plant itself. They can also provide a food
source for animals that eat the plant, like the squirrel below. In both
cases, the glucose will be broken down through cellular respiration,
generating ATP to keep cells running.

Left: image of a tree with acorns growing on it. Right: image of a

squirrel eating an acorn.
Image credit: OpenStax Biology. "Acorn," modification of work by Noel Reynolds; “Squirrel,"
modification of work by Dawn Huczek.

Anabolic and catabolic pathways

The processes of making and breaking down glucose molecules are
both examples of metabolic pathways. A metabolic pathway is a
series of connected chemical reactions that feed one another. The
pathway takes in one or more starting molecules and, through a series
of intermediates, converts them into products.

Metabolic pathways can be broadly divided into two categories based

on their effects. Photosynthesis, which builds sugars out of smaller
molecules, is a "building up," or anabolic, pathway. In contrast,
cellular respiration breaks sugar down into smaller molecules and is a
"breaking down," or catabolic, pathway.
 Anabolic pathway: small molecules are assembled into larger ones.
Energy is typically required.

Catabolic pathway: large molecules are broken down into small ones.
Energy is typically released.
Image credit: OpenStax Biology.

Anabolic pathways build complex molecules from simpler ones and

typically need an input of energy. Building glucose from carbon
dioxide is one example. Other examples include the synthesis of
proteins from amino acids, or of DNA strands from nucleic acid
building blocks (nucleotides). These biosynthetic processes are
critical to the life of the cell, take place constantly, and use energy
carried by ATP and other short-term energy storage molecules.

Catabolic pathways involve the breakdown of complex molecules

into simpler ones and typically release energy. Energy stored in the
bonds of complex molecules, such as glucose and fats, is released in
catabolic pathways. It's then harvested in forms that can power the
work of the cell (for instance, through the synthesis of ATP).
[Need a mnemonic for anabolic and catabolic?]

One final but important note: the chemical reactions in metabolic

pathways don’t take place automatically, without guidance. Instead,
each reaction step in a pathway is facilitated, or catalyzed, by a protein
called an enzyme. You can learn more about enzymes and how they
control biochemical reactions in the enzymes topic.
Introduction to metabolism review
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Key Terms
Term Meaning

The sum of all chemical reactions that take place

Metabolism inside a cell

The synthesis of complex molecules from

Anabolism simpler ones

The breakdown of complex molecules into

Catabolism simpler ones

Exergonic
reaction A reaction that releases energy

Endergonic
reaction A reaction that consumes energy

Adenosine triphosphate, the primary energy

ATP carrier in living things

Metabolism
Metabolism is a set of chemical reactions that interconnect in a series
of pathways. It is a balancing act between the building and breakdown
of molecules in the body.
 Type of
metabolism Process Energetics Example

Builds complex Production of

molecules from new body
Anabolism simple ones Endergonic tissues

Breaks down
complex molecules Digestion of
Catabolism into simpler ones Exergonic food

Anabolic pathway: small molecules are assembled into larger ones.

Energy is typically required.

Catabolic pathway: large molecules are broken down into small ones.
Energy is typically released.
Anabolic vs catabolic pathways. Image from OpenStax Biology, CC BY 4.0

Examples

Catabolism: Cellular respiration

Cellular respiration is a catabolic process during which glucose is
broken down to release usable energy for a cell.

The overall reaction for cellular respiration is:

\text C_6\text H_{12}\text O_6C6H12O6start text, C, end text, start
subscript, 6, end subscript, start text, H, end text, start subscript, 12,
end subscript, start text, O, end text, start subscript, 6, end
subscript + 6\text O_26O26, start text, O, end text, start subscript, 2,
end subscript →→→ 6 \text {CO}_26CO26, start text, C, O, end text, start
subscript, 2, end subscript + 6 \text H_2\text O6H2O6, start text, H, end
text, start subscript, 2, end subscript, start text, O, end text + \text
{energy}energystart text, e, n, e, r, g, y, end text

As in all catabolic processes, cellular respiration releases energy

which can then be harnessed and used by other reactions in the cell.

Anabolism: Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is an anabolic process during which plants use energy
from sunlight to convert carbon dioxide gas and water into sugar
molecules.

The overall reaction for photosynthesis is:

6 \text {CO}_26CO26, start text, C, O, end text, start subscript, 2, end
subscript + 6 \text H_2\text O6H2O6, start text, H, end text, start
subscript, 2, end subscript, start text, O, end text + \text
{energy}energystart text, e, n, e, r, g, y, end text →→→ \text C_6\text
H_{12}\text O_6C6H12O6start text, C, end text, start subscript, 6, end
subscript, start text, H, end text, start subscript, 12, end subscript,
start text, O, end text, start subscript, 6, end subscript + 6\text O_26O2
6, start text, O, end text, start subscript, 2, end subscript

Photosynthesis, like all anabolic processes, consumes energy as

glucose is built. Some of this glucose is used by the plant itself, or it
can be used as a food source for other organisms.
 Common mistakes and misconceptions
 Many metabolic reactions occur at the same time. Thousands of
metabolic reactions are being carried out in your body at the same
time. They are all coordinated with one another and regulated
carefully to keep an organism functioning properly.