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Course: AP®︎/College Biology > Unit 3
Lesson 3: Cellular energy- First Law of Thermodynamics introduction
- Second Law of Thermodynamics and entropy
- The laws of thermodynamics
- Reaction coupling to create glucose-6-phosphate
- ATP and reaction coupling
- Introduction to metabolism: Anabolism and catabolism
- Overview of metabolism
- Cellular energy
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ATP and reaction coupling
ATP structure, ATP hydrolysis to ADP, and reaction coupling.
Introduction
A cell can be thought of as a small, bustling town. Carrier proteins move substances into and out of the cell, motor proteins carry cargoes along microtubule tracks, and metabolic enzymes busily break down and build up macromolecules.
Even if they would not be energetically favorable (energy-releasing, or exergonic) in isolation, these processes will continue merrily along if there is energy available to power them (much as business will continue to be done in a town as long as there is money flowing in). However, if the energy runs out, the reactions will grind to a halt, and the cell will begin to die.
Energetically unfavorable reactions are “paid for” by linked, energetically favorable reactions that release energy. Often, the "payment" reaction involves one particular small molecule: adenosine triphosphate, or ATP.
ATP structure and hydrolysis
Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is a small, relatively simple molecule. It can be thought of as the main energy currency of cells, much as money is the main economic currency of human societies. The energy released by hydrolysis (breakdown) of ATP is used to power many energy-requiring cellular reactions.
Structurally, ATP is an RNA nucleotide that bears a chain of three phosphates. At the center of the molecule lies a five-carbon sugar, ribose, which is attached to the nitrogenous base adenine and to the chain of three phosphates.
The three phosphate groups, in order of closest to furthest from the ribose sugar, are labeled alpha, beta, and gamma. ATP is made unstable by the three adjacent negative charges in its phosphate tail, which "want" very badly to get further away from each other. The bonds between the phosphate groups are called phosphoanhydride bonds, and you may hear them referred to as “high-energy” bonds.
Hydrolysis of ATP
Why are the phosphoanhydride bonds considered high-energy? All this really means is that an appreciable amount of energy is released when one of these bonds is broken in a hydrolysis (water-mediated breakdown) reaction. ATP is hydrolyzed to ADP in the following reaction:
Note:
Like most chemical reactions, the hydrolysis of ATP to ADP is reversible. The reverse reaction, which regenerates ATP from ADP and
You can think of ATP and ADP as being sort of like the charged and uncharged forms of a rechargeable battery (as shown above). ATP, the charged battery, has energy that can be used to power cellular reactions. Once the energy has been used up, the uncharged battery (ADP) must be recharged before it can again be used as a power source. The ATP regeneration reaction is just the reverse of the hydrolysis reaction:
We’ve mentioned that a bunch of free energy is released during ATP hydrolysis, but just how much are we talking? ∆G for the hydrolysis of one mole of ATP into ADP and
Reaction coupling
How is the energy released by ATP hydrolysis used to power other reactions in a cell? In most cases, cells use a strategy called reaction coupling, in which an energetically favorable reaction (like ATP hydrolysis) is directly linked with an energetically unfavorable (endergonic) reaction. The linking often happens through a shared intermediate, meaning that a product of one reaction is “picked up” and used as a reactant in the second reaction.
When two reactions are coupled, they can be added together to give an overall reaction, and the ΔG of this reaction will be the sum of the ΔG values of the individual reactions. As long as the overall ΔG is negative, both reactions can take place. Even a very endergonic reaction can occur if it is paired with a very exergonic one (such as hydrolysis of ATP). For instance, we can add up a pair of generic reactions coupled by a shared intermediate, B, as follows
You might notice that the intermediate, B, doesn't appear in the overall coupled reaction. This is because it appears as a both a product and a reactant, so two Bs cancel each other out when the reactions are added.
ATP in reaction coupling
When reaction coupling involves ATP, the shared intermediate is often a phosphorylated molecule (a molecule to which one of the phosphate groups of ATP has been attached). As an example of how this works, let’s look at the formation of sucrose, or table sugar, from glucose and fructose
Case study: Let's make sucrose!
The formation of sucrose requires an input of energy: its ΔG is about
How is the energy released in ATP hydrolysis channeled into the production of a sucrose molecule? As it turns out, there are actually two reactions that take place, not just one big reaction, and the product of the first reaction acts as a reactant for the second.
- In the first reaction, a phosphate group is transferred from ATP to glucose, forming a phosphorylated glucose intermediate (glucose-P). This is an energetically favorable (energy-releasing) reaction because ATP is so unstable, i.e., really "wants" to lose its phosphate group.
- In the second reaction, the glucose-P intermediate reacts with fructose to form sucrose. Because glucose-P is relatively unstable (thanks to its attached phosphate group), this reaction also releases energy and is spontaneous.
This example shows how reaction coupling involving ATP can work through phosphorylation, breaking a reaction down into two energetically favored steps connected by a phosphorylated (phosphate-bearing) intermediate. This strategy is used in many metabolic pathways in the cell, providing a way for the energy released by converting ATP to ADP to drive other reactions forward.
Different types of reaction coupling in the cell
The example above shows how ATP hydrolysis can be coupled to a biosynthetic reaction. However, ATP hydrolysis can also be coupled to other classes of cellular reactions, such as the shape changes of proteins that transport other molecules into or out of the cell.
Case study: Sodium-potassium pump
It’s energetically unfavorable to move sodium (
In this process, ATP transfers one of its phosphate groups to the pump protein, forming ADP and a phosphorylated “intermediate” form of the pump. The phosphorylated pump is unstable in its original conformation (facing the inside of the cell), so it becomes more stable by changing shape, opening towards the outside of the cell and releasing sodium ions outside. When extracellular potassium ions bind to the phosphorylated pump, they trigger the removal of the phosphate group, making the protein unstable in its outward-facing form. The protein will then become more stable by returning to its original shape, releasing the potassium ions inside the cell.
Although this example involves chemical gradients and protein transporters, the basic principle is similar to the sucrose example above. ATP hydrolysis is coupled to a work-requiring (energetically unfavorable) process through formation of an unstable, phosphorylated intermediate, allowing the process to take place in a series of steps that are each energetically favorable.
Want to join the conversation?
Is it possible to run out of ATP?(32 votes)
The cell also has in place mechanisms to stop this from happening. Like the enzyme phosphofructokinase (crazy name, I know) which is involved in the beginnings of glycolysis. Glycolysis is one of the early stages of making ATP from ADP. So, when there's more ADP around phosphofructokinase will work harder (which allows to the whole cycle to go faster, regenerating more ATP). When there's a lot of ATP, though, phosphofructokinase (and other enzymes like it) will slow down. So basically, the cell has things set up carefully so that the right amount of ATP will be available (unless, as Laurent said, the cell is dying).(63 votes)
What happens with those -3kJ/mol from the formation of sucrose? Does it transform on heat?(32 votes)
Yes, this 3 kJ/mol is released as heat that dissipates in the environment.(49 votes)
Where does the energy come from to synthesis ATP from ADP and P ?
is it when you couple the reaction that turns it back into ATP(14 votes)
It comes from oxidative phosphorylation at the end of the electron transport chain.(6 votes)
- Why just ATP though? Why not TTP, CTP, or GTP as well? If it is possible with one nucleotide, why not the others?(13 votes)
- All eukaryotic proteins use ATP for their respective energy requirements not TTP, CTP, or GTP. Also because ATP donates a phosphoryl group.(3 votes)
Why do energy released by ATP under standard conditions at 25 °C is important if human body temperature is 36.5–37.5 °C ?(6 votes)
It is used for standardization, 25°C is called "room temperature" and is used for lab experiments in test tubes rather then inside of your body.(5 votes)
- If the production of ATP and the hydrolysis of ADP and Pi is cyclic, why do we run out of ATP and require glycolysis for ATP production? Wouldn't the ATP simply be recyclable and neverending?(5 votes)
- Does it release heat energy?(4 votes)
- In the process of
cellular respiration(or the process of creating ATP) heat is released as wasted energy. This means that cellular respiration is only 36% efficient, and 64% wasted energy in the form of heat. Heat is a beneficial waste in this situation. It ensures a warm environment throughout the cell. Meaning the cell itself can function more smoothly.
-Remember, this process does not release energy. It creates energy (in the form of ATP) so it doesn't include heat in this circumstance. Only usable energy for the cell.
- Check out Khan Academy's, "Cellular Respiration Introduction" video. It gives a clearer understanding of where the energy is going and how it is being used within the cell.
Hope this helped!(1 vote)
- I watched a video where it mentioned there are three steps to produce ATP, Glycolysis, the Kerbs Cycle and Electron Transport Chain. Does the hydrolysis reaction occur after these steps? Like when exactly does it occur?(4 votes)
- ATP hydrolysis occurs after the bulk of energy is made in
oxidative phosphorylation, or theElectron transport chain + chemiosmosis.
-However, it is important to remember the process of ATP hydrolysis itself. It is the splitting of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) into adenosine diphosphate + inorganic phosphate + energy. This means that it occurs at the end of the process. After the main bulk of ATP is used, the only thing left over is ADP and an unused phosphate. During cellular respiration, the cell attaches the phosphate to the ADP and creates a new ATP. And the cycle continues.
-To further understand the hydrolysis process you should go watch Khan Academy's "ATP Hydrolysis Mechanism" video, it's a deeper dive into ATP and how hydrolysis can occur. Or simply refresh your knowledge on the ADP part of the ATP cycle.
To create ATP there has to be some type of continuous cycle. Hydrolysis comes in to ensure the production of ADP and, as a result, ATP.
Great question, hope this helps!(1 vote)
Wouldn't ATP be more stable when the middle phosphates' charged oxygen was located above the phosphates, so the charges are further apart?(2 votes)- Single bonds rotate along their axis, so any drawing you might see of a molecule is, by all means, NOT set in stone. Yes, like charges move away from each other, when permitted, but we usually don't draw it like that, for the sake of consistency.(4 votes)
- When it is said "ATP releases energy", I would imagine something imaginary (kinda like a wave) travelling to help in creating another bond.
Energy is not created nor destroyed. At the end of the reaction above:
3K. energy transferred as heat.
The reaction glucose + fructose requires 27K.
As I said I used to imagine some imaginary wave, instead I'm thinking now that when ATP gives this 27K. it does this by creating instability, and we classify it as giving energy. Is this true?
If true, then theoretically can't phosphate, without being part of ATP, just 'run' around the cell and just keep creating instability (sounds like unlimited free energy). Why does it have to be reattached to ADP to form ATP again? Is it because inorganic phosphate is not unstable enough?
If not true then what is this 27K. energy represented by?(2 votes)- It is not ATP itself that releases energy, and also not the bond to the final phosphate bond being broken. If you think about it, you actually need energy to break any bonds, including that one (otherwise it would fall appart and not be a bond that keeps atoms together!). The energy is actually from hydrolyising ATP, ie breaking that bond, but also forming new ones. The products ADP and inorganic phosphate are lower in (potential) energy than ATP. (This has several reasons, and isn't as simple as counting bonds and expecting them to have the same energies as in other molecules, but also that having a solvated inorganic phosphate is more entropically favourable). So, the ATP reaction wants to move in the ADP+ Pi direction. But you can't just do that and hope it magically drives another reaction in reverse/uphill. What often happens, is that ATP will react with the reactants of the other reaction, some steps occur converting reactant to product, and in the end ADP and Pi are released. Each step turns out energetically favourable, driven forward by a loss in free energy, and by the end you have converted reactants to products in a reaction that would not normally go forwards on its own by allowing ATP to drop from a high energy to low energy. Does this help explain?(5 votes)
