LECTURE 9: METABOLISM IN PLANTS

What Is Metabolism?
 Metabolism is the chemical reactions in the plants cells that change food
into energy.
 Specific proteins in the body control the chemical reactions of metabolism.

How Does Metabolism Work

 break proteins down into amino acids
 turn fats into fatty acids
 turn carbohydrates into simple sugars (for example, glucose)

 The plant can use sugar, amino acids, and fatty acids as energy sources
when needed.
 After they enter the cells, other enzymes act to speed up or regulate the
chemical reactions involved with "metabolizing" these compounds.
 During these processes, the energy from these compounds can be released
for use by the plant or stored in plant tissues,

TYPES OF METABOLISM IN PLANTS

Metabolism is a balancing act involving two kinds of activities that go on at the
same time:
 building up body tissues and energy stores (called anabolism)
 breaking down tissues and energy stores to get more fuel for body functions
(called catabolism)

Anabolism -constructive metabolism, is all about building and storing. It

supports the growth of new cells, the maintenance of body tissues, and the
storage of energy for future use. In anabolism, small molecules change into
larger, more complex molecules of carbohydrates, protein, and fat.

Catabolism destructive metabolism, is the process that produces the energy

needed for all activity in the cells. Cells break down large molecules (mostly carbs
and fats) to release energy.

There are various pathway by which plant generate energy

1. Glycolytic pathway
2. Krebs cycle/TCA cycle
3. Pentose phosphate pathway
GLYOLYSIS

Glycolysis is the central pathway for glucose catabolism in which

glucose (6-carbon compound) is converted into pyruvate (3-carbon
compound) through a sequence of 10 steps.
 Glycolysis takes place in both aerobic and anaerobic organisms and is the
first step toward the metabolism of glucose.
 The glycolytic sequence of reactions differs from one species to the other in
the mechanism of its regulation and the subsequent metabolic fate of the
pyruvate formed at the end of the process.
 In aerobic organisms, glycolysis is the prelude to the citric acid cycle and
the electron transport chain, which together release most of the energy
contained in glucose.
 It is also referred to as Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas or EMP pathway in honor
of the pioneer workers in the field.
 Glycolysis occurs in the cell’s cytosol (cytoplasm).
Glycolysis Equation
A summary of the process of glycolysis cab be written as follows:
C6H12O6 + 2ADP + 2Pi + 2NAD+ → 2C3H4O3 + 2H2O + 2ATP + 2NADH + 2H+

In words, the equation is written as:

Glucose + Adenosine diphosphate + Phosphate + Nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide
↓
Pyruvate + Water + Adenosine triphosphate + Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
+ Hydrogen ions
Glycolysis Enzymes
In most kinds of cells, the enzymes that catalyze glycolytic reactions are present
in the cytosol (cytoplasm). One common characteristic in all the enzymes
involved in glycolysis is that nearly all of them require Mg 2+.
Glycolysis 10 Steps
 During glycolysis, a single mole of 6-carbon glucose is broken down into two
moles of 3-carbon pyruvate by a sequence of 10 enzyme-catalyzed
sequential reactions.
These reactions are grouped under 2 phases, phase I and II.
i) Preparatory
ii) Pay off stage

i) Preparatory reactions
 These are not redox reactions and do not release energy but instead
lead to the production of a critical intermediate of the pathway.
 Stage I consists of the first five steps of the glycolysis process.
ii) Pay off stage
 These redox reactions occur, energy is conserved in the form of ATP, and
two molecules of pyruvate are formed.
 The last five reactions of glycolysis constitute phase II.

The ten steps of glycolysis occur in the following sequence:

Step 1- Phosphorylation of glucose

 In the first step of glycolysis, the glucose is initiated or primed for the
subsequent steps by phosphorylation at the C 6 carbon.
 The process involves the transfer of phosphate from the ATP to glucose
forming Glucose-6-phosphate in the presence of the enzyme hexokinase
 This step is also accompanied by considerable loss of energy as heat.
Step 2- Isomerization of Glucose-6-phosphate

 Glucose 6-phosphate is reversibly isomerized to fructose 6-phosphate by

the enzyme phosphohexoisomerase/phosphoglucoisomerase.
 This reaction involves a shift of the carbonyl oxygen from C1 to C2, thus
converting an aldose into a ketose.
Step 3- Phosphorylation of fructose-6-phosphate

 This step is the second priming step of glycolysis, where fructose-6-

phosphate is converted into fructose-1,6-bisphosphate in the presence of
the enzyme phosphofructokinase.
 Like in Step 1, the phosphate is transferred from ATP while some amount of
energy is lost in the form of heat as well.
Step 4- Cleavage of Fructose 1, 6-diphosphate

 This step involves the unique cleavage of the C-C bond in the fructose 1, 6-
bisphosphate.
 The enzyme fructose diphosphate aldolase catalyzes the cleavage of
fructose 1,6-bisphosphate between C3 and C4 resulting in two different
triose phosphates: glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (an aldose) and
dihydroxyacetone phosphate (a ketose).
 The remaining steps in glycolysis involve three-carbon units, rather than six
carbon units.
Step 5- Isomerization of dihydroxyacetone phosphate

 Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate can be readily degraded in the subsequent

steps of glycolysis, but dihydroxyacetone phosphate cannot be.
 Thus, it is isomerized into glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate instead.
 In this step, dihydroxyacetone phosphate is isomerized into glyceraldehyde
3-phosphate in the presence of the enzyme triose phosphate isomerase.
 This reaction completes the first phase of glycolysis.
Pay off step
Step 6- Oxidative Phosphorylation of Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate

 Step 6 is one of the three energy-conserving or forming steps of glycolysis.

 The glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate is converted into 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate

by the enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase
(phosphoglyceraldehyde dehydrogenase).
 In this process, NAD+ is reduced to coenzyme NADH by the H– from
glyceraldehydes 3-phosphate.
 Since two moles of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate are formed from one mole
of glucose, two NADH are generated in this step.
Step 7- Transfer of phosphate from 1, 3-diphosphoglycerate to ADP
  This step is the ATP-generating step of glycolysis.
 It involves the transfer of phosphate group from the 1, 3-
bisphosphoglycerate to ADP by the enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase, thus
producing ATP and 3-phosphoglycerate.
 Since two moles of 1, 3-bisphosphoglycerate are formed from one mole of
glucose, two ATPs are generated in this step.
Step 8- Isomerization of 3-phosphoglycerate

 The 3-phosphoglycerate is converted into 2-phosphoglycerate due to the

shift of phosphoryl group from C3 to C2, by the enzyme phosphoglycerate
mutase.
 This is a reversible isomerization reaction.
Step 9- Dehydration 2-phosphoglycerate

 In this step, the 2-phosphoglycerate is dehydrated by the action of enolase

(phosphopyruvate hydratase) to phosphoenolpyruvate.
 This is also an irreversible reaction where two moles of water are lost.
Step 10- Transfer of phosphate from phosphoenolpyruvate

 This is the second energy-generating step of glycolysis.

 Phosphoenolpyruvate is converted into an enol form of pyruvate by the
enzyme pyruvate kinase.
 The enol pyruvate, however, rearranges rapidly and non-enzymatically to
yield the keto form of pyruvate (i.e. ketopyruvate). The keto form
predominates at pH 7.0.
 The enzyme catalyzes the transfer of a phosphoryl group from
phosphoenolpyruvate to ADP, thus forming ATP.
Result of Glycolysis
The overall process of glycolysis results in the following events:
1. Glucose is oxidized into pyruvate.
2. NAD+ is reduced to NADH.
3. ADP is phosphorylated into ATP.
Fates of Pyruvate
Depending on the organism and the metabolic conditions, the pyruvate takes one
of the following three essential routes:
.
1. Oxidation of pyruvate
 In aerobic organisms, the pyruvate is then moved to the mitochondria
where it is oxidized into the acetyl group of acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl Co-
A).
 This process involves the release of one mole of CO 2.
 Later, the acetyl CoA is completely oxidized into CO 2 and H2O by entering
the citric acid cycle.
  This pathway follows glycolysis in aerobic organisms and plants.
2. Lactic acid fermentation
 In conditions where the oxygen is insufficient, like in the skeletal
muscle cells, the pyruvate cannot be oxidized due to lack of oxygen.
 Under such conditions, the pyruvate is reduced to lactate by the process of
anaerobic glycolysis.
 Lactate production from glucose also occurs in other anaerobic organisms
by the process of lactic acid fermentation.
3. Alcoholic Fermentation
 In some microbes like brewer’s yeast, the pyruvate formed from glucose is
converted anaerobically into ethanol and CO2.
 This is considered the most ancient form of the metabolism of glucose, as
observed in conditions where the oxygen concentration is low.
Significance of Glycolysis Pathway
1. All tissues employ the glycolytic pathway for the breakdown of glucose to
provide energy in the form of ATP.
2. An important pathway for the production of energy, especially under
anaerobic conditions.
3. It is crucial for the generation of energy in cells without mitochondria.
4. It forms products that are intermediates for other metabolic pathways.
5. Glycolysis interfaces with glycogen metabolism, the pentose phosphate
pathway, the formation of amino sugars, triglyceride synthesis (by means of
glycerol 3-phosphate), the production of lactate (a dead-end reaction), and
transamination with alanine.