Cellular Respiration

Nelson Biology
Chapter 7
Pages 204 - 228
 General Learning Outcome
• Explain the role of cellular respiration in
releasing potential energy from organic
compounds
 Focusing Questions
• How is the energy in organic matter
released for use by living systems?
• How do humans in their application of
technologies impact photosynthesis
and cellular respirations
 Importance of Cellular
Respiration
• Cellular respiration is the process
where
– cells break down glucose into carbon
dioxide and water, releasing energy

C6H12O6(s) + O2(g)  CO2(g) + H2O(l) + energy

 Importance of Cellular
Respiration
• When cells require energy it is
supplied by ATP
– This is the role of cellular respiration
• Both plant and animal cells release
energy
– Energy is stored in bonds of glucose
 Electron Carriers
• NADH
– Donates electrons in cellular processes
• NAD+
– Accepts electrons in cellular processes
• FADH2
– Donates electrons in cellular processes
• FAD+
– Accepts electrons in cellular processes
 L.E.O. goes G.E.R.
• Loss Electrons
Oxidation
• Gain Electrons
Reduction

• The transfer of electrons releases

energy
• This energy can be used to make ATP
 STOP!! Practice Questions
• What is the
primary function of
cellular respiration?
• How do redox
reactions in
electron transfer
help to form ATP?
Energy, Cells & ATP
 Energy, Cells & ATP
• Energy for most cellular processes are
supplied by:
ATP
• Typical human cell estimated to contain
1.0x109 molecules ATP
– Continually broken down to ADP + Pi
– Release energy to do work
– Reformed to be used again
 Active Transport
• Used to move substances into or out
of the cell
• Is against a concentration gradient
– Often referred to as “pumps”
• Utilizes membrane-bound carrier proteins
and energy from ATP
Sodium-Potassium Pump
 Large Scale Motion
• Critical use of ATP
– Energy from ATP
used for movement
of muscle
 Glucose & ATP
• ATP not abundant in food
– Provide relatively small amounts of
energy per molecule
 Carbohydrates - They are
Good!
• Most useable source of energy
– Notably in the form of glucose
• Along with oxygen is a substrate of cellular
respiration
– Some energy in glucose is converted into ATP
 ATP is like GOLD
• The cell is like a
Western
amusement park
– Operates off gold
coins
– Stores only accept
gold coins
 Bars vs. Coins
• Glucose is like bars of gold
– Contains 100x more energy
than an individual ATP coin
– Have to exchange the bars
for coins to be useful

• Virtually all process

conducted require ATP
– ATP is immediate source of
energy
 STOP!! Practice Questions
• How do carrier proteins
use ATP to transport
molecules across the
membrane?
• One glucose molecule
has 100x more stored
energy than one ATP
molecule.
– Why can’t cells use
glucose to run their
processes?
Breaking the Bonds, Releasing
the Energy
• Respiration - chemical bonds of food
molecules are broken down
– New bonds form in resulting chemical
products
• ALWAYS takes energy to break
chemical bonds
• Energy is ALWAYS released when new
bonds form
• More energy is released than
consumed
Starting
Substance
 Exchange Rate
• Food molecules such as glucose have
high energy content
– Trade in one $100 gold bar for individual
coins
• Exchange rate is at best 36%
• For every 1 gold bar, will only receive $36 in
gold coins
– 64% is lost as heat
 2 Types of Cellular
Respiration
• Aerobic Cellular Respiration
– Takes place in presence of oxygen
– Complete oxidation of glucose
• End products: CO2, H2O, 36 ATP molecules
• Anaerobic Cellular Respiration
– Takes place in absence of oxygen
– Glucose not completely oxidized
• Broken into 2 main types
 Aerobic Respiration
• Stage 1: glycolysis
• Stage 2: pyruvate oxidation
• Stage 3: the Krebs cycle
• Stage 4: ETC and chemiosmosis

C6H12O6 + 6O2 +36ADP +36Pi  6CO2 + 6H2O + 36 ATP

 Anaerobic Cellular
Respiration
• Stage 1: glycolysis
• Stage 2: fermentation

C6H12O6 + 2 ADP + 2 Pi  2C3H6OH + 2CO2 + 2 ATP

ethanol

C6H12O6 + 2 ADP + 2 Pi  2C3H6O3 + 2 ATP

lactic acid
 Glycolysis
• Greek for “Sugar
splitting”
• Glucose molecule (6
carbon sugar) breaks
down to two pyruvate
molecules (3 carbon
sugar)

• Takes place without the

presence of oxygen
• Occurs in the cytosol of
the cell
• Pyruvate (pyruvic acid)
moves into the
mitochondria via a
transport protein
• Uses a hydrogen
carrier NADH
– Photosynthesis uses
NADPH
• Produces a net of 2
ATP molecules
– Also produces two
NADH molecules
 Key Steps in Glycolysis
• Two ATP molecules are used - an
investment of energy
• Redox reactions occur - 2 positive
NAD+ ions remove H+ from the
pathway to form 2 NADH molecules
• Enough energy is released to join 4
ADP molecules with 4 Pi molecules
 this forms 4 ATP molecules
 Glycolysis
• When complete, cell has REACTANTS PRODUCTS
• consumed
– one glucose molecule Glucose 2 pyruvate
and
• produced
2 NAD+ 2 NADH
– two ATP molecules, two
NADH molecules and two
pyruvate molecules 2 ATP 2 ADP
– These ATP molecules are
available for cellular
functions (the gold coins) 4 ADP + Pi 4 ATP
 Glycolysis
1 glucose + 2 ADP + 2Pi + 2 NAD+ 
2 pyruvate + 2 ATP + 2 NADH + 2 H+

• Alone glycolysis is not a highly-efficient energy-

harnessing mechanism
– Transfers only ~2.2% of free energy in glucose to
ATP
• Some energy released as thermal energy
• Majority is trapped in pyruvate and NADH molecules
• ALL organisms carry out glycolysis - either as
only ATP source or as first step in more energy-
productive process
– EX. Cellular Respiration
 RECALL: Aerobic Respiration
• Stage 1: glycolysis
– 10 step process in cytoplasm
• Stage 2: pyruvate oxidation
– 1 step process in mitochondria
• Stage 3: the Krebs cycle
– 8 step cyclical process in mitochondria
• Stage 4: ETC and chemiosmosis
– Multi-step process in inner mitchondrial
membrane

C6H12O6 + 6O2 +36ADP +36Pi  6CO2 + 6H2O + 36 ATP

Mitochondria
- Round or
sausage-shaped
organelles in cell’s
cytoplasm
- Specialize in
large production
of ATP
- Cannot proceed
without free oxygen
Mitochondrial Powerhouse
• Cristae
– Folds in inner
membrane
– Increases surface
area
– Site of ATP
synthesis
• Mitochondrial
Matrix
– Site of the Citric
Acid Cycle
Stage 2: Pyruvate Oxidation
• By the end of Stage 1  cell has
formed 2 ATPs, 2 NADHs, and 2
pyruvate molecules
Stage 2: Pyruvate Oxidation
• Pyruvate oxidation is a chemical
pathway connecting glycolysis in
cytoplasm with the Kreb’s cycle in
the mitochondrial matrix
– The 2 pyruvate molecules must be
transported through the two
mitochondrial membranes into the
matrix
 Key Steps in Pyruvate
Oxidation
• One CO2 is removed from each pyruvate -
released as a waste product
• Remaining 2-carbon portions are oxidized
by NAD+
1. Gains 2 H+ (2 protons and 2 electrons) from
pyruvate
1. Remaining 2-C compounds become an acetic acid
group
1. High energy hydrogens are transferred to NAD+
3. Coenzyme A (CoA) attaches to acetic acid
group - forms acetyl-CoA
1. This acetyl-CoA can enter the Krebs cycle
Stage 3: the Krebs Cycle
 Key Features of the Krebs
Cycle
• Krebs cycle occurs twice for each
molecule of glucose processed
• Acetyl-CoA enters and releases the CoA,
which is recycled for the next pyruvate
• During one cycle
• three NAD+s and one FAD are reduced 
forms three NADHs and one FADH2
• one ADP + Pi combine to form one ATP
• two CO2 molecules are produced and released
as waste
 Key Features of the Krebs
Cycle
• ALL 6 carbon atoms of glucose have
been oxidized to CO2
– Released from cell as metabolic waste
• All that remains is some free energy in form of
ATP and high-energy NADH and FADH2

• NADH and FADH2 go on to Stage 4

– Here much of their energy will be
transferred to ATP
Stage 4: Electron Transport
and Chemiosmosis
 Stage 4
• Occurs on the inner mitochondrial
membranes
• NADH and FADH2 eventually transfer
the hydrogen atom electrons through
the electron transport chain
– The energy associated with the electrons
pumps H+ ions into the intermembrane
space
Oxygen - the Final Acceptor
• Oxygen accepts the 2 e- from the final
carrier
– Also uses 2 H+ ions from the matrix
• Forms water H2O
• This is why all aerobic organisms must obtain
oxygen from the environment on a continual
basis
Chemiosmosis & Oxidative ATP
Synthesis
• The production of ATP in
mitochondria is very similar to that
which occurs in the thylakoid
membranes in photosynthesis
•In photosynthesis, the use of light
energy in ATP synthesis is called
photosphosphorylation
• In cellular respiration, it is referred
to as oxidative phosphorylation, or
oxidative ATP synthesis
• Named because the energy used
to drive ATP synthesis comes from
the energy released in the ETC -
from a series of oxidation
reactions
 Where does the ATP go?
• After ATP molecules are formed by
chemiosmosis they are transported
through both mitochondrial
membranes
– Used to drive processes requiring energy
 All in the Family
• The three stages of aerobic cellular
respiration - pyruvate oxidation, the
Krebs cycle, and ETC &
chemiosmosis) are all linked to each
other
– Dependent on glycolysis for the
production of pyruvate
 Anaerobic Cellular
Respiration
• Glycolysis changes NAD+ to NADH
– Without NAD+ this reaction does not
occur
• Cells have a limited supply of NAD+
• Without a way to convert NADH to NAD+,
glycolysis will come to a halt
– ATP no longer will be produced and cell death
occurs
 Anaerobic Cellular
Respiration
• Evolved in organisms as a way of
recycling NAD+
– Allows glycolysis to continue
• One method involves transferring H
atoms of NADH to specific organic
molecules
– Process called fermentation
• Lactic acid fermentation
• Alcohol fermentation
 Anaerobic Cellular
Respiration
• Occur in only 2 stages
– Glycolysis: same process as that in
aerobic cellular respiration
– Fermentation: products of glycolysis
recycled in 2 different ways
• Carbon dioxide and ethanol are final waste
products (alcohol fermentation)
• Lactic acid is the final waste product (lactic
acid fermentation)
 Alcohol Fermentation
• NADH molecules pass their H atoms
to acetaldehyde
– This forms ethanol
• Same type of alcohol used in alcoholic
beverages
– Recycles NAD+ and allows glycolysis to
continue
• The 2 ATP produced are enough to satisfy the
organism’s energy needs
 Alcohol Fermentation -
Application
• Can be carried out by a single-celled fungi
– Ex. Saccharomyces cerevisiae

C6H12O6 + 2 ADP + 2 Pi  2C3H6OH + 2CO2 + 2 ATP

ethanol
 Lactic Acid Fermentation
• Under normal conditions, humans
obtain energy from glucose by
aerobic cellular respiration
– During strenuous exercise, the ATP
demand is greater than what can be
supplied by aerobic respiration alone
 Lactic Acid Fermentation
• NADH transfers its H to pyruvate in
the cytoplasm
– Regenerates NAD+
– Pyruvate changes into lactic acid
 Exercise Phsiology
• Most common problem faced by
athletes  shortage of energy
– Aerobic fitness  factor in judging overall
fitness
 Exercise Phsiology
• Muscle cells require energy from ATP
• ATP production requires oxygen
• Thus assume ATP production
increases if more oxygen is absorbed
by body cells
 Maximum Oxygen
Consumption
• VO2 max
– Measure of the body’s ability to generate
energy required for activity
• You will develop a concept map
indicating the criteria for aerobic and
anaerobic respiration. This concept
map will indicate:
– Three similarities between the two
processes.

– Two types of cells that perform each

process.

– Location in the cell where each

process occurs.

– Oxygen requirements for each

process.

– Reactants and products for each

process.

– Energy output for each process.

– Two different types of anaerobic

respiration.
• Reactants and products for each.

• Types of cells that perform each

process.