Glycolysis

Energy Storage/release
The Oxidation of Carbon Fuels is an important
source of cellular energy.
ATP serves as the principal immediate donor
of free energy.
Motion, active transport, signal amplification,
and biosynthesis can occur only if ATP is
continually regenerated.
The carbon in fuel molecules such as
glucose and fats - is oxidized to CO2, and the
energy released is used to regenerate ATP.
The carbon oxidation energy is used in some
cases to create a compound with high
phosphoryl transfer potential and I other cases
to create an ion gradient. In either case, the
end point is the formation of ATP.

Glycolysis is the first stage of respiration

 Glycolysis literally means "splitting sugars."

In glycolysis, glucose (a six carbon sugar) is split into
two molecules of a three-carbon sugar.
Glycolysis yields two molecules of ATP (free energy
containing molecule), two molecules of pyruvic acid
and two "high energy" electron carrying molecules of
NADH.
Glycolysis can occur with or without oxygen.
In the presence of oxygen, glycolysis is the first stage
of cellular respiration. Without oxygen, glycolysis
allows cells to make small amounts of ATP.
This process is called fermentation.
While glycolysis takes place in the cytosol of the cell's
cytoplasm, the next step of cellular respiration called
the citric acid cycle, occurs in the matrix of cell
mitochondria.

Overview of glycolysis

Two phases of glycolysis

Preparatory Phase

Fig 14-2

Reaction 1: Phosphorylation

This phosphorylation is catalyzed by hexokinase,

using ATP as the phosphate donor.
Hexokinase transfers a phosphate group from
ATP to glucose, making it more chemically
reactive. The charge on the phosphate also traps
the sugar in the cell.

Reaction 2: Isomerization

The enzyme responsible for this

isomerization is phosphoglucoisomerase.
The carbonyl oxygen of glucose 6-phosphate
is shifted from C-1 to C-2.
Glucose-6-phosphate is converted to its
isomer, fructose-6-phosphate.

Reaction 3: Phosphorylation

The enzyme that responsible in this reaction is

phosphofrutokinase.
Phosphofructokinase transfers a phosphate group
from ATP to the opposite end of the sugar,
investing a second molecule of ATP.
This is a key step for regulation of glycolysis

Reaction 4: Cleavage

Aldolase, which is an enzyme that cleaves

the sugar molecule into two different threecarbon sugars which are isomers.
The products are dihydroxyacetone
phosphate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate.

Reaction 5: Isomerization
The triose phosphate,
dihydroxyacetone
phosphate, must be
converted to
glyceraldehyde-3phosphate by the enzyme
triose phosphate
isomerase.
This reaction never
reaches equilibrium due to
glyceraldehyde-3phosphate is used as the
substrate of the next

Fig 14-2

Reaction 6: Oxidation

The enzyme which is glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

dehydrogenase catalyzes two sequential
reactions.
First, the sugar is oxidized by the transfer of
electrons to NAD+ forming NADH.
Second, the energy released from this exergonic
redox reaction is used to attach a phosphate
group to oxidized substrate, making a product of

Reaction 7: Substrate level phosphorylation

The enzyme phosphoglycerokinase transfers a

phosphoryl group from 1,3-bisphosphglycerate to
ADP to form an ATP.
The phosphate group added in the previous step is
transferred to ADP in an exergonic reaction.
The carbonyl group of a sugar has been oxidized to
the carboxyl group (-COO-) of an organic acid,
knows as 3-phosphoglycerate.

Reaction 8: shift of phosphoryl group

The phosphoglyceromutase reaction, in

which the phosphoryl group of 3phosphoglycerate is moved from C-3 to
C-2.
The enzyme, phosphoglyceromutase,
relocates the remaining phosphate
group.

Reaction 9: Dehydration

The dehydration reaction is catalyzed by the

enzyme, called as enolase.
Enolase causes a double bond to form in the
substrate by extracting a water molecule,
yielding phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), a
compound with a very high potential energy.

Reaction 10: substrate level

phosphorylation
Pyruvate kinase
mediates the transfer
of a phosphoryl group
from
phosphoenolpyruvate
to ADP to make ATP
and forming pyruvate.
This is a second
example of substratelevel phosphorylation.

The Glycolytic Pathway is Tightly

Controlled

1.
2.
.
.

.
1.
2.

The rate of conversion of glucose into pyruvate is regulated to meet two

major cellular needs:
The production of ATP
The provision of building blocks foe synthetic reactions, such as the
formation of fatty acids
In metabolic pathways, enzyme catalysing essentially irreversible reactions
are potential sites of control.
In glycolysis, the reactions catalysed by hexokinase, phosphofructokinase,
and pyruvate kinase are virtually irreversible, each of them serves as
control site.
These enzyme activities are regulated by
The reversible binding of allosteric effectors or by covalent modification
Transcription of these enzyme

Summary

Stage 1, which is the conversion of

glucose into fructose-1,6-phosphate

Stage 2: cleavage of the fructose-1,6bisphophate into two three-carbon fragments

Stage 3: ATP is harvested when the threecarbon fragments are oxidized to pyruvate

THE END RESULT IS

4 ATP molecules, 2 water molecules, 2
pyruvate, and 2 NADH molecules.
4 ATP molecules 2 ATP molecules (used in
the initial step to add phosphorus to our
glucose molecule) = 2 ATP molecules net
The 2 pyruvate molecules, are either passed
along and used in the Krebs Cycle to create
more ATP. Or, in the absence of oxygen, they
are converted to lactic acid (which will make
your muscles burn)

Reaction of glycolysis