How do living things release

energy?
• Most energy used through conversion of ATP
molecules into ADP molecules
• Thus, cells must continually convert ADP
molecules back into ATP molecules
• This process is known as...

CELLULAR RESPIRATION
 RESPIRATION
AND
FERMENTATION
Arrah Jane T. Senia
BSED Science - III
 Breathing versus
Cellular Respiration

Breathing: physical process that allows

animals and humans to come into contact
with gases in the air.

Cellular respiration: chemical process

that releases energy from organic
compounds (food), gradually converting it
into energy that is stored in ATP
molecules
 Chemical Pathways

• Food is the raw material

that provides the energy
for your body to function.

• Cells use food to

synthesize new molecules
to carry out their life
processes
 CELLULAR RESPIRATION
 It is a complex process by
which energy, in the form of
ATP is released from food
molecules ingested by
organisms.
 The conversion of the stored
chemical energy (example:
sugar, fat) further into another
form of energy-carrying
molecule known as ATP.
 Other simpler substances, like
carbon dioxide and water, are
also produced.
 Cells do not BURN glucose, they slowly
release energy from it and other food
compounds through several pathways
(processes)
1st pathway  glycolysis: releases only a small amount
of energy (2 net ATP)
• If oxygen is present, it will lead to two other
pathways that release a lot of energy: Krebs
cycle & Electron Transport Chain
• If oxygen is absent, glycolysis is followed by a
different pathway: Alcoholic Fermentation or
Lactic Acid Fermentation
 TYPES OF CELLULAR RESPIRATION
ANAEROBIC
AEROBIC RESPIRATION RESPIRATION
• Takes place in the presence of • Takes place without the presence of
oxygen oxygen
• When we breathe we intake • When there is a lack of oxygen the
oxygen-rich air and release cells start to look at various ways to
carbon dioxide-rich air. The produce energy. This will happen
oxygen-rich air travels to all the when there is not enough oxygen
parts, till it reaches each cell for anaerobic respiration. This takes
and inside the cell, the oxygen place in microorganisms and lower
Glucose —> Alcohol + Carbon dioxide+ Energy
is used to break down food to plants.
(ATP )
release energy. The main
products of this reaction are
carbon
Glucose + Oxygendioxide, water,
—-> Carbon and+ Water +
dioxide
energy. The released energy is
Energy(ATP)
utilized by the body to carry out
various functions.
Overview of Cellular Respiration
THE
MITOCHONDRIUM
 AEROBIC
RESPIRATION
1. glycolysis
● Process takes place in the cytosol
of the cytoplasm outside of
mitochondria; coverts glucose with
the help of 2 ATP molecules and
eventually releases 4 ATP
molecules; for a net gain of 2 ATP
molecules.
ATP & NADH production in Glycolysis

Step 1: breaks 1 molecule of

glucose in half, producing 2
molecules of pyruvic acid (a 3-
carbon compound)

Step 2: 2 NAD+ ;electron carrier

accepts 4 high-energy electrons
transfers them to 2 NADH
molecules and 2 H+ thus passing
the energy stored in the glucose

Step 3: 4 ADP added producing 4

ATP

Step 4: 2 remaining pyruvic acids

NAD+ = (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotid
enter Krebs Cycle in presence of
• Glycolysis is a fast process
• Cells produce thousands of ATP molecules in
a few milliseconds
• Glycolysis alone DOES NOT require oxygen
(It can supply chemical energy to cells when oxygen is NOT
available)

• However if a cell generates large amounts of

ATP from glycolysis it can run into problems
a. the cell’s available NAD+ molecules become filled up with
electrons
b. glycolysis shuts down, cannot proceed without available NAD+
molecules
c. ATP production stops
1.2 Transition Reaction
● Before pyruvate can enter the next
stage of cellular respiration it needs
to be modified slightly.
● The transition reaction is a very short
reaction which converts the two
molecules of pyruvate to two
molecules of acetyl CoA, carbon
dioxide, and two high energy
electron pairs convert NAD to NADH.
● The carbon dioxide is released, the
acetyl CoA moves to the
mitochondria to enter the Kreb’s
Cycle (stage II), and the NADH
carries the high energy electrons to
the Electron Transport System (stage
III).
2. kreb’s cycle or Citric acid cycle

● 2nd stage of cellular respiration

● Named after Hans Krebs, British
biochemist in 1937
● Here pyruvic acid is broken down into
carbon dioxide in a series of energy-
extracting reactions
● Citric acid is the 1st compound
formed in this series of reactions, so
Krebs is sometimes called the Citric
or Citric Acid Cycle.
 Steps of the Citric Acid Cycle

• Step 1: Acetyl CoA (two-carbon

molecule) joins with oxaloacetate
(four-carbon molecule) to form
citrate (six-carbon molecule).
• Step 2: Citrate is converted to
isocitrate (an isomer of citrate)
• Step 3: Isocitrate is oxidised to
alpha-ketoglutarate (a five-carbon
molecule) which results in the
release of carbon dioxide.
One NADH molecule is formed.
● The enzyme responsible for
catalysing this step
is isocitrate dehydrogenase. T
his is a rate-limiting step, as
isocitrate dehydrogenase is an
allosterically controlled enzyme.
• Step 4: Alpha-ketoglutarate is
oxidised to form a four-carbon
molecule. This binds to
coenzyme A, forming succinyl
CoA. A second molecule
of NADH is produced, alongside
a second molecule of carbon
dioxide.
• Step 5: Succinyl CoA is then
converted to succinate (four-
carbon molecule) and
one GTP molecule is produced.
• Step 6: Succinate is converted
into fumarate (four-carbon
molecule) and a molecule
of FADH₂ is produced.
• Step 7: Fumarate is converted
to malate (another four-carbon
Net Output
Each cycle produces:

● Two molecules of carbon dioxide.

(waste product)
● Three molecules of NADH.
● Three hydrogen ions (H+).
● One molecule of FADH₂
● One molecule of GTP.
● Each molecule of glucose
produces two molecules of
pyruvate, which in turn produces
two molecules of acetyl-CoA.
Therefore, each molecule of
glucose produces double the net
output of each cycle.
3. Electron Transport Chain
(oxidative phosphorylation)
 The final stage of aerobic respiration is the electron transport
chain, which is located on the inner mitochondrial membrane
 The inner membrane is arranged into folds (cristae), which
increases the surface area available for the transport chain
 The electron transport chain releases the energy stored within the
reduced hydrogen carriers in order to synthesise ATP
 This is called oxidative phosphorylation, as the energy to
synthesise ATP is derived from the oxidation of hydrogen carriers
Oxidative phosphorylation occurs over a number of distinct
steps:
○ Proton pumps create an electrochemical gradient (proton
motive force)
○ ATP synthase uses the subsequent diffusion of protons
(chemiosmosis) to synthesise ATP
○ Oxygen accepts electrons and protons to form water
 Steps of the Electron Transport Chain
Step 1: Generating a Proton
Motive Force
• The hydrogen carriers (NADH and
FADH2) are oxidised and release
high energy electrons and protons
• The electrons are transferred to
the electron transport chain, which
consists of several transmembrane
carrier proteins
• As electrons pass through the
chain, they lose energy – which is
used by the chain to pump protons
(H+ ions) from the matrix
• The accumulation of H+ ions
within the intermembrane space
creates an electrochemical
gradient (or a proton motive force)
 Steps of the Electron Transport Chain
Step 2: ATP Synthesis via
Chemiosmosis

● The proton motive force will

cause H+ ions to move down
their electrochemical gradient
and diffuse back into matrix
● This diffusion of protons is called
chemiosmosis and is facilitated
by the transmembrane enzyme
ATP synthase
● As the H+ ions move through
ATP synthase they trigger the
molecular rotation of the
enzyme, synthesising ATP
 Steps of the Electron Transport Chain
Step 3: Reduction of Oxygen

● In order for the electron transport

chain to continue functioning, the
de-energised electrons must be
removed
● Oxygen acts as the final electron
acceptor, removing the de-
energised electrons to prevent the
chain from becoming blocked
● Oxygen also binds with free
protons in the matrix to form
water – removing matrix protons
maintains the hydrogen gradient
● In the absence of oxygen,
hydrogen carriers cannot transfer
energised electrons to the chain
Oxidative Phosphorylation
• Hydrogen carriers donate high energy electrons to the electron transport chain
(located on the cristae)
• As the electrons move through the chain they lose energy, which is transferred
to the electron carriers within the chain
• The electron carriers use this energy to pump hydrogen ions from the matrix
and into the intermembrane space
• The accumulation of H+ ions in the intermembrane space creates an
electrochemical gradient (or a proton motive force)
• H+ ions return to the matrix via the transmembrane enzyme ATP synthase (this
diffusion of ions is called chemiosmosis)
• As the ions pass through ATP synthase they trigger a phosphorylation reaction
which produces ATP (from ADP + Pi)
• The de-energised electrons are removed from the chain by oxygen, allowing
new high energy electrons to enter the chain
• Oxygen also binds matrix protons to form water – this maintains the hydrogen
gradient by removing H+ ions from the matrix
The Total ATP production of Aerobic CR

● How much chemical energy comes from one molecule of glucose??

○ Absence of oxygen:
■ Only 2 ATP molecules from glycolysis
○ Presence of oxygen:
■ 2 net ATP molecules from glycolysis
■ 36 more ATP molecules from Krebs Cycle and electron transport

These 38 ATP molecules represent 38% of the total energy of glucose,

remaining 62% is released as heat, thus your body feels warmer
after vigorous exercise and does not freeze in winter.