This essay will describe the structural and chemical difference between the production and energy storage mechanisms in plant and animal cells. ATP is the compound which provides energy for all plant and animal cells and is used in many processes, such as the production of RNA. The energy produced by ATP molecules is essential for basic bodily functions like muscle contraction. It was discovered in 1929 by Karl Lohmann though its structure was not yet determined. ATP consists of a ribose sugar, an organic base and a string of phosphates. The structural and chemical differences will be discussed followed by the energy storage mechanisms.
There are structural and chemical differences in the production of ATP in plant and animal cells. ATP is the molecule adenosine triphosphate which releases energy through hydrolysis. The ATP molecule loses its third phosphate group in a reaction triggered by the enzyme adenosine triphosphatase. This results in the production of ADP and an inorganic phosphate plus the release of energy. In animal cells, ATP is produced from the breakdown of glucose, which is obtained from food, through glycolysis. Glycolysis always occurs in cellular respiration as it is an anaerobic process; if there is a lack of oxygen respiration stops there any only 2 ATP molecules are produced. If oxygen is present respiration continues to produce more ATP. However in plant cells, ATP is produced from light through photosynthesis in the thylakoids of the chloroplasts and to a lesser extent in the mitochondria. Plant cells produce the majority of their ATP from photosynthesis and only once this method has been exhausted, will they use mitochondria produced ATP.
However, plants can’t always photosynthesise to produce ATP. If th...
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Georgia State University, Adenosine Triphosphate. [online] Available at: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html [Accessed February 8th 2014]
Boundless, The Calvin Cycle. [online] Available at: https://www.boundless.com/biology/photosynthesis/using-light-energy-to-make-organic-molecules/the-calvin-cycle/ [Accessed February 9th 2014]
Indiana University, The Calvin Cycle of C3 Photosynthesis. [online] Available at: http://sites.bio.indiana.edu/~hangarterlab/courses/b373/lecturenotes/photosyn/carbon/c3.html [Accessed February 9th 2014]
In the light independent stage of photosynthesis ATP is again used to break down a molecule. In the Calvin cycle after glycerate 3-phosphate is reduced, then ATP breaks down and loses a phosphate group (becoming ADP). The phosphate group is then gained by the glycerate 3-phosphate molecule and it becomes triose phosphate. ATP is then used furthermore in product synthesis (anabolism) this is where energy is required to convert the triose phosphate into more complex molecules such as amino acids or lipids.
Mader, S. S. (2010). Metabolism: Energy and Enzymes. In K. G. Lyle-Ippolito, & A. T. Storfer (Ed.), Inquiry into life (13th ed., pp. 105-107). Princeton, N.J: McGraw Hill.
The equation of photosynthesis is: 6CO2 + 6H20 Þ C6H12O6 + 6O2 = = = =
It is the slowest working metabolic pathway for the production of energy in the body. This cycle, unlike the energy consumption in sprinting, allows the body to maintain its energy level during endurance activities. The citric acid cycle, or the Krebs cycle, allows humans to sustain long-term energy (long running) because it produces more energy than the other pathways. The Krebs cycle uses lots of enzymes, which reduce the amount of energy required for a chemical reaction. These enzymes help the body use less and create more energy. By using enzymes in the absence of more energy, the Krebs cycle is different from other metabolic pathways. Through the catabolism of fats, sugars, and proteins, an acetate is created and used in the citric acid cycle. The Krebs cycle converts NAD+ into NADH. These are then used by another system called the oxidative phosphorylation pathway to generate
However, in anaerobic respiration (glycolysis and fermentation) only two (2) adenosine triphosphate (ATP) can be obtained. Now, for photosynthesis it is actually a carbon-fixation which is 3CO2+9ATP+6NADPH+H2O--- glyceraldehyde3phosphate+8Pi+9ADP+6NADP which turns out to just be eight-teen (18) ATP per glucose molecules in
1. Glycolysis is a multi-step process. The authors of Biological Science 5th edition stated ...
The process of photosynthesis is present in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and is the process in which cells transform energy in the form of light from the sun into chemical energy in the form of organic compounds and gaseous oxygen (See Equation Below). In photosynthesis, water is oxidized to gaseous oxygen and carbon dioxide is reduced to glucose. Furthermore, photosynthesis is an anabolic process, or in other words is a metabolism that is associated with the construction of large molecules such as glucose. The process of photosynthesis occurs in two steps: light reactions and the Calvin cycle. The light reactions of photosynthesis take place in the thylakoid membrane and use the energy from the sun to produce ATP and NADPH2. The Calvin cycle takes place in the stroma of the chloroplast and consumes ATP and NADPH2 to reduce carbon dioxide to a sugar.
As previously mentioned, enzyme catalyzed reactions are a large contributing factor to many biological systems. In regards to metabolic pathways, ATP Synthase is a necessary enzyme that uses a concentration gradient to attach a phosphate group to an ADP molecule. This process is called phosphorylation. The bond that is created between the ADP and the phosphate group is formed by dehydration synthesis. This enzyme appears at the end of the electron transport chain in cellular respiration and at the end of the light dependent reactions in photosynthesis. Regardless of where the enzyme is found, the purpose remains the same; create useable energy in the form of ATP. In cellular respiration, the ATP can be used for several different objectives.
If cells are denied energy, they will die. The second law of thermal dynamics says energy is lost in the form of heat whenever energy changes form. ATP is stored in the c. Glucose produced by C02, water and ATP. Respiration may be said to be a controlled breakdown of glucose that produces ATP for cell activities to be carried out. The purpose of the lab was to show the effect of temperature on the rate of respiration.
Cellular respiration and photosynthesis are the two most important processes that animal and plant cells supply themselves with energy to carry out their life cycles. Cellular respiration takes glucose molecules and combines it with oxygen. This energy results in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), with carbon dioxide and water that results in a waste product. Photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and combines it with water,
“Photosynthesis (literally, “synthesis from light”) is a metabolic process by which the energy of sunlight is captured and used to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) into carbohydrates (which is represented as a six-carbon sugar, C6H12O6) and oxygen gas (O2)” (BioPortal, n.d., p. 190).
They are the same reactions, but occur in reverse. In photosynthesis, carbon dioxide and water yield glucose and oxygen respiration, process glucose and oxygen yield carbon dioxide and water, catabolic pathway process which requires or contains molecular oxygen for the production of adenosine triphosphate. This three step aerobic respiration cycle occurs in the cytoplasm and in the organelles called mitochondria. Within this process, cells break down oxygen and glucose in a storable form called adenosine triphosphate or ATP. This cellular respiration or sometimes called an exothermic reaction is similar to a combustion type reaction whereby the cell releases energy in the form heat but at a much slower rate within a living cell.
Madar, Sylvia S., & Windelspecht, Michael. (2014). Inquiry into Life, Metabolism: Energy & Enzymes (pp. 104-107). New York: McGraw Hill.
Photosynthesis is a process in plants that converts light energy into chemical energy, which is stored in bonds of sugar. The process occurs in the chloroplasts, using chlorophyll. Photosynthesis takes place in green leaves. Glucose is made from the raw materials, carbon dioxide, water, light energy and oxygen is given off as a waste product. In these light-dependent reactions, energy is used to split electrons from suitable substances such as water, producing oxygen. In plants, sugars are produced by a later sequence of light-independent reactions called th...
When humans consume plants, the carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins that are broken down through two forms of cellular respiration. The two processes of cellular respiration displayed in humans are anaerobic or aerobic. The deciding process used depends on the presence of oxygen. Cellular respiration converts the material into useable energy called ATP. ATP is the energy form that cells can use to perform their various functions and it can also be stored for later use. Without plants, none of this energy could be produced and the herbivores that humans consume would not exist.