Q2W4 General Biology Module
Q2W4 General Biology Module
Q2W4 General Biology Module
General Biology
Cellular Respiration
Second Quarter – Week 4
Armida S. Oblinada
Quality Assurance
EXPECTATIONS
At the end of the lesson, the learner should be able to:
distinguish major features of glycolysis, Krebs cycle, electron transport
system, and chemiosmosis.
describe reactions that produce and consume ATP
describe the role of oxygen in respiration and describe pathways of electron
flow in the absence of oxygen
PRETEST
Complete the sentence by choosing the correct word from the choices inside the
parentheses. Encircle your correct answer.
1. (32, 34, 36, 38) ATPs are made in the ETC.
2. (Pyruvate, Glucose, NADH, FADH2) is a substrate of glycolysis.
3. If oxygen is not present, glycolysis is followed by (Krebs cycle, fermentation,
ETC).
4. Glycolysis happens in the (cytoplasm, cristae, intermembrane space, matrix)
of the mitochondrion.
5. The area inside the cristae where the Krebs cycle happens in the (cytosol,
matrix, intermembrane space).
6. The three phases of cellular respiration are glycolysis, (citric acid cycle or
carboxylic acid cycle), and ETC.
7. The passage of H+ ions through (shuttle membranes, ATP synthase, ETC)
causes it to spin and produce ATP.
8. (Kinase, Coenzyme A, Isomerase) reacts with pyruvic acid to release CO2,
produce NADH, and acetyl-CoA.
9. A six-carbon molecule produced when acetyl-CoA joins with oxaloacetic acid
is called (citric acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid)
10. The NADH and FADH2 produced during the first steps of cellular respiration
pass their electrons down the (glycolysis stage, citric acid cycle, electron
transport chain) to produce ATP.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Cellular Respiration
Cellular respiration is a series of metabolic processes that take place in the
mitochondrion of the cell to convert chemical energy from nutrients to usable form
of energy known as ATP. It involves aerobic and anaerobic processes that break down
glucose into smaller molecules, releasing energy. Cellular respiration involves the
cumulative function of three metabolic stages:
1. Glycolysis
2. Krebs Cycle or Citric Acid Cycle
3. Oxidative Phosphorylation: Electron Transport and Chemiosmosis
The specific enzymes, reactants, and products for the 10-step process of
glycolysis are shown in the diagram below. Take note of the molecules, the process,
and ATP produced in the reaction.
Intermediate Step – Conversion of Pyruvate to Acetyl CoA
After glycolysis comes an
intermediate step that converts pyruvate
into acetyl CoA. This process must occur
since the product of glycolysis, pyruvate,
cannot directly enter the mitochondrion to
proceed to Krebs cycle. Pyruvate must be
converted into acetyl CoA first before the
process continues. This reaction allows the
production of 2 NADH that will be used
later in oxidative phosphorylation. Take
note that 2 molecules of CO2 are also
produced per glucose. This intermediate
process can be summarized in the diagram
on the right.
Krebs Cycle
Krebs cycle is also known as citric acid cycle or tricarboxylic acid cycle. It
functions as a metabolic furnace that oxidizes organic fuel derived from pyruvate.
The figure on the left summarizes the inputs and outputs of Krebs cycle as pyruvate
is broken down to three (3) CO2 molecules, that includes the CO2 molecule released
during the conversion of pyruvate into acetyl
CoA. Krebs cycle generates 1 ATP per turn by
substrate-level phosphorylation, but most of
the chemical energy is transferred into NAD+
and coenzyme FAD, a related electron barrier.
The reduced coenzymes NADH and FADH2, will
be shuttled to the electron transport chain.
Krebs cycle involves conversion of one
molecules to the next and it is catalyzed by
specific enzymes. What’s important for you to
take note in Krebs cycle is that per glucose that
produces two pyruvate molecules, the products
that will be produced are 4 CO2, 6 NADH, 2
ATP, and 2 FADH2.
Oxidative Phosphorylation
The previous steps discussed, glycolysis and
citric acid cycle, only produced 4 ATP molecules
per glucose through substrate level
phosphorylation. It is important to remember
that cellular respiration involves production of
usable form of energy that the cell needs. So
where are other ATPs produced? After glycolysis and Krebs cycle, the molecules
NADH and FADH2 accounts for most of the energy extracted from the glucose. These
electron escorts link glycolysis and Krebs cycle to the machinery of oxidative
phosphorylation, which uses energy released by the electron transport chain to
power ATP synthesis.
Since ETC makes no ATP directly, the process that involves production of ATP
is chemiosmosis. Chemiosmosis is the movement of protons across the inner
mitochondrial membrane or cristae through the ATP synthase that allows synthesis
of ATP. ATP synthase is the enzyme that actually makes ATP from ADP and inorganic
phosphate. ATP synthase works like an ion pump. It uses the energy of the existing
proton gradient to power ATP synthesis. The power source for the ATP synthase is
the unequal difference in the concentration gradient of protons on opposite sides of
the cristae.
Anaerobic Respiration
It was mentioned in the Krebs cycle that oxygen serves as the final electron
acceptor of the ETC in the final steps of cellular respiration. It was also mentioned
that the oxygen combines with electrons and hydrogen ions to produce water. This
means that the particular reactions mentioned above involves the presence of oxygen
(except glycolysis that does not require O2). But what if there’s no oxygen? Would
there be enough ATP?
Take note that most of the ATP generated by cellular respiration is due to the
work of oxidative phosphorylation. This reaction occurs with the presence of oxygen.
Without the supply of oxygen to the cell, oxidative phosphorylation ceases. So, what
happens next?
There are two general mechanisms by which certain cells can oxidize organic
fuel and generate ATP anaerobically. These two mechanisms are anaerobic
respiration and fermentation. Anaerobic respiration takes place in certain
prokaryotic organisms that live in oxygen-depleted environment. These organisms
have ETC found on their plasma membrane but do not use oxygen as final electron
acceptor at the end of the chain. Thus, only minimal amount of ATP is produced but
just enough for the prokaryotic cell to be able to perform its functions. The other
mechanism is known as fermentation. Fermentation is an anaerobic process used as
a way of harvesting chemical energy without using either oxygen or any ETC – in
other words without cellular respiration. Fermentation consists of glycolysis plus
reactions that regenerate NAD+ by transferring electrons from NADH to pyruvate.
The NAD+ can be then reused to oxidize sugar by glycolysis, which provides a net of
two molecules of ATP by substrate-level phosphorylation. There are common types
of fermentation namely alcohol fermentation and lactic acid fermentation.
In alcohol fermentation, the pyruvate is
converted into ethanol (ethyl alcohol). This
involves a two-step process. The first step
releases CO2 from the pyruvate, which is
converted to acetaldehyde. The second step
involves the reduction of acetaldehyde by
NADH to ethanol. Many bacteria carry out
alcohol fermentation under anaerobic
conditions. Yeast also carries out alcohol
fermentation which is used in brewing,
winemaking, and baking. The CO2 bubbles
generated by baker’s years during alcohol
fermentation allow bread to rise.
ACTIVITIES
A. Go back to the processes involved in cellular respiration and complete the table
to have the accounting of the number of CO 2, NADH, FADH2, and ATP produced
in one glucose molecule.
2. How many ATPs will be produced from 85 glucose molecules? Show your
solution below.
REMEMBER
Cellular respiration is a series of metabolic processes that take place in the
mitochondrion of the cell to convert chemical energy from nutrients to usable
form of energy known as ATP.
Cellular respiration involves three steps namely: glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and
oxidative phosphorylation.
Glycolysis involves the breakdown of glucose into two molecules of a
compound called pyruvate.
Krebs cycle is also known as citric acid cycle or tricarboxylic acid cycle. It
functions as a metabolic furnace that oxidizes organic fuel derived from
pyruvate.
Oxidative phosphorylation involves electron transport chain (ETC) and
chemiosmosis.
ETC is a collection of molecules found in the inner membrane of the
mitochondrion of eukaryotic cells and plasma membrane of prokaryotes.
Chemiosmosis is the movement of protons across the inner mitochondrial
membrane or cristae through the ATP synthase that allows synthesis of ATP.
ATP synthase is the enzyme that actually makes ATP from ADP and inorganic
phosphate.
One glucose can yield about 36 ATP molecules.
Without the presence of oxygen, anaerobic respiration and fermentation may
occur.
Fermentation is an anaerobic process used as a way of harvesting chemical
energy without using either oxygen or any ETC – in other words without
cellular respiration.
Fermentation has two common types – alcoholic and lactic acid fermentation.
In alcohol fermentation, the pyruvate is converted into ethanol (ethyl alcohol).
Lactic acid fermentation involves direct reduction by NADH of pyruvate to form
lactate as an end product, with no release of CO 2.
Match the terms in Column A with the definition in Column B. Then, identify the
location where the process / molecule is located / can be produced.
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