There are two turns of the Krebs cycle for each 6C glucose input. Furthermore, when computing the possible net ATP yield, two link reactions and a Glycolysis must considered. There is a probable yield of 38 molecules of ATP from the breakdown of one glucose molecule in aerobic respiration. Simply put, glucose is a large stable molecule with lots of chemical energy trapped in its bonds. It is easy to release this energy explosively, say, by combustion; but that would damage the cell, and most of the energy would be lost as useless heat. The complex biochemistry of cell respiration has evolved to obtain in a series of enzyme-controlled, gentle, incremental steps as much chemical energy as possible to make ATP (from ADP and P). Probable energy …show more content…
In the case of FAD, the second carrier in the chain and at a slightly lower energy level and a little more electronegative than NAD+, only 2 ATP are produced. Chemiosmosis explains precisely how ATP is produced from the electron transport chain. The enzymes controlling the steps in the chain, embedded in the crista membrane, are actually proton pumps. They use the energy from the passage of excited electrons to change their shape and pump disembodied H+ from the matrix of the mitochondria which contains all the Krebs cycle machinery into the inter-membrane space. Protons accumulate here and the pH is detectably lower than in the matrix. The accumulation of protons in the inter-membrane space creates a significant concentration gradient. The electron carrier molecules and their associated protein-pumping enzymes are coupled with ATP synthase in the inner membranes of mitochondrial crista. ATP synthase harnesses the concentration gradient of the protons. As protons speed from a high to a low concentration, through the open channels of ATP synthase, their energy is harnessed to make ATP from ADP and P. Only at this point do the generic protons rejoin generic electrons, previously transported by the chain, to form respiratory H2O with oxygen, the ultimate and most electronegative of the …show more content…
If they were absent, the inner membrane would be reduced to a single spherical shape, and with less reaction surface available, the reaction efficiency would be likewise reduced. Therefore, cristae are a necessity for the mitochondria to function efficiently Photosynthesis and respiration are basically the same, but occurs in reverse. In the simplest term, they complement each other throughout the environs. In photosynthesis, carbon dioxide and water yield glucose and oxygen. Thus, glucose and oxygen yield carbon dioxide and water through the respiration