Question

Please describe the aerobic respiration of an organic molecule such as glucose in one concise paragraph must use the terms: electron donor, electron acceptor, ATP. krebs cycle (TCA and citric acid cycle), proton motive force (proton gradient), oxidation, oxygen, glycolysis, reduction, electron transport chain, catabolic, mitochondria

Answer 1

Aerobic respiration begins with the conversion of glucose into 2 molecules of pyruvate by glycolysis. Glycolysis, a catabolic process occurs in the cytosol in 10 subsequent steps and does not require oxygen. In glycolysis total gain is of 2 ATP and 2 NADH. NAD⁺ in the glycolysis accept the electron and get converted into  NADH which enters into electron transport chain to donate electron. The ATP generated in glycolysis is by substrate level phosphorylation.

Pyruvate is converted into acetyl-CoA which enters into the mitochondria for further oxidation. Further oxidation occurs in the mitochondria by citric acid cycle. One complete citric acid cycle produce 3 NADH, 1 FADH₂ and 1 GTP. In citric acid cycle CO2 is generated in the enzyme catalysed reaction.

All the reducing power now enters into the electron transport chain where they works as electron donar and regenerate the oxidized form again. electron given by NADH and FADH2 move through various carrier present in the inner mitochondrial membrane and finally reach O2 and make H2O. The energy releaed by electron movement is used to pump proton in the inner mitochondrial space from matrix which forms an proton gradient, used for ATP synthesis.