Introduction:
Cellular respiration is an ATP-producing catabolic process in which the ultimate electron acceptor is an inorganic molecule, such as oxygen. It is the release of energy from organic compounds by metabolic chemical oxidation in the mitochondria within each cell. Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats can all be metabolized as fuel, but cellular respiration is most often described as the oxidation of glucose, as follows:
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + 686 kilocalories of energy/mole of glucose oxidized
Cellular respiration involves glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and the electron transport chain. Glycolysis is a catabolic pathway that occurs in the cytosol and partially oxidizes glucose into twopyruvate (3-C). The Krebs cycle is also a catabolic pathway that occurs in the mitochondrial matrix and completes glucose oxidation by breaking down apyruvate derivative (Acetyl-CoA) into carbon dioxide. These two cycles both produce a small amount of ATP by substrate-level phosphorylation and NADH by transferring electrons from substrate to
NAD+ (Krebs cycle also produces FADH2 by transferring electrons to FAD). The electron transport chain is located at the inner membrane of the mitochondrion, accepts energized electrons from reduced coenzymes that are harvested during glycolysis and Krebs cycle, and couples this exergonic slide of electrons to ATP synthesis or oxidative phosphorylation. This process produces 90% of the ATP.
Cells respond to changing metabolic needs by controlling reaction rates. Anabolic pathways are switched off when their products are in ample supply. The most common mechanism of control is feedback inhibition.
Catabolic pathways, such as glycolysis and the Krebs cycle, are controlled by regulating enzyme activity at strategic points. A key control point of catabolism is the third step of glycolysis, which is catalyzed by an allosteric enzyme, phosphofructokinase. The ratio of ATP to ADP and AMP