Question

Write the equation for cellular respiration. Label what is oxidized and what is reduced in the redox reaction. Using pictures, diagram, and/or words, explain what happens during each the following processes as related to the complete oxidation of glucose and production of ATP: Glycolysis, Pyruvate oxidation, Citric acid cycle, Electron Transport Chain. Be thorough.

Answer 1

Cellular respiration is the process of breakdown of sugars to generate energy in the form of ATP.

It can take place in the absence or presence of oxygen. Aerobic respiration takes place in the presence of Oxygen and is much more efficient than other types of respiration in producing ATP. Anaerobic respiration takes place in the absence of Oxygen and fermentation takes place in the deficiency of oxygen.

The first step of aerobic respiration is glycolysis which is The breakdown of one molecule of 6 carbon glucose into two molecules of pyruvic acid each containing three carbon. It leads to the formation of ATP and NADH as well. It takes place in the cytoplasm of all the organisms. It is a common step for aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

The second step of aerobic respiration is pyruvate oxidation. In this process, pyruvate is decarboxylated to form acetyl coenzyme A. Pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme is responsible for carrying out this step. This is called as linking reaction or preparatory step or Gateway reaction. This takes place in mitochondrial matrix. High energy electron carrier NADH is also generated in this step.

The third process is tricarboxylic acid cycle also called as citric acid cycle and kreb cycle. It takes place in mitochondrial matrix point it is a cyclic process which leads to the formation of various fatty acid intermediates, GTP, NADH and FADH2.

The fourth process is electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation which occur together. In electron transport chain, electrons are transferred from one electron carrier to the other. In this process, protons are pump from mitochondrial Matrix to intermembrane space. These protons are pumped back into the mitochondrial matrix by ATP synthase enzyme. This creates a Proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane which drives the synthesis of ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate catalyzed by ATP synthase enzyme. This is also called as chemiosmosis.

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