Exam 2 - Lecture 12 Flashcards
many _____________ _____________ are used as starting substrates for amino acids
precursor metabolites
what atom is a major component of protein, nucleic acids, coenzymes, and more?
nitrogen
what are potential sources of nitrogen used by cells?
- ammonia (NH3)*
- nitrate (NO3-)*
- nitrogen gas (N2)
- *most cells use these
why is ammonia easily incorporated into organic material?
it is more reduced than other forms of inorganic nitrogen
ammonia is added to ______-_____________ under high ammonia conditions to form ______________
alpha-ketoglutarate; glutamate
what enzyme transfers amino groups to carbon skeletons?
transaminases
what enzyme reduces nitrate to nitrite?
nitrate reductase
what enzyme reduces nitrite to ammonia?
nitrite reductase
what enzyme catalyzes the reduction of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to ammonia?
nitrogenase
what organisms have nitrogenase?
only bacteria and archaea
how many ATP and electrons does it cost the cells to reduce N2 to NH3? what % of cellular ATP can this process consume?
- 16 ATP and 8 electrons
- up to 20% cellular ATP
which two amino acids have sulfur groups?
cysteine and methionine
what is an example of a coenzyme that contains sulfur?
coenzyme A
where is sulfur commonly obtained from?
- external sources
- intracellular amino acid reserves
sulfate (SO4,2-) has to be ________ in order to be incorporated into organic molecules
reduced
what is assimilatory sulfate reduction?
sulfate is reduced into hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and then is used to synthesize cysteine. cysteine is then used to make sulfur contained organic compounds
what is the first step in assimilatory sulfate reduction? how many ATP does it use?
- sulfate activation through the formation of PAPS (phosphoadenosine 5’-phosphosulfate)
- uses 2 ATP
what takes place after sulfate reduction in assimilatory sulfate reduction? how many NADPH are used?
- sulfate in PAPS is sequentially reduced to sulfite (SO3-) and H2S
- 2 NADPH used
what is the final step of assimilatory sulfate reduction?
H2S is used to create cysteine
how do fungi make cysteine? how about bacteria?
- fungi: H2S + serine
- bacteria: H2S+ O-acetylserine
what is transamination? what serves as the source of the amino group?
- the direct addition of amino groups to precursor metabolites to make some amino acids
- glutamate