Metabolism Flashcards
Metabolism can be divided into what two categories?
anabolic and catabolic
What form of metabolism requires energy in order to proceed?
anabolic reactions.
What form of metabolism breaks down molecules and releases energy?
catabolism
What is the source of cellular energy?
the oxidation of carbon molecules.
How long does the energy from ATP last?
Not very long (is used within a couple of minutes).
Generation of ATP results from what kind of metabolic reaction?
a catabolic reaction
What is the ultimate electron acceptor in oxidative phosphorylation?
oxygen
In general, the more reduced a molecule is, the ___ potential energy.
reduced; e.g. methane releases the most oxygen and carbon dioxide releases the least.
Why can fat store so much energy?
It has many reduced, saturated hydrocarbons that have high potential energy.
What are the three sources of energy from food?
fat, polysaccharides and proteins.
Degraded fats, polysaccharides, and proteins are converted into what molecules?
acetyl CoA
Acetyl CoA is used in what reaction?
aerobic respiration.
What electron carriers are found in the metabolic pathways?
NADH, FADH, FADH2
What three things are controlled in metabolic pathways?
the amount of enzymes (transcription/signaling), catalytic activity (feedback inhibition), and accessibility of substrates.
What are the two techniques used to study proteins?
x-ray crystallography and NMR
What is x-ray crystallography?
Crystallizing proteins and using x-ray technology to learn the shape and size of a protein or DNA.
What is a con of using x-ray crystallography?
Not every protein can be crystallized (or easily crystallized).
What is NMR?
nuclear magnetic resonance; it is used to determine the structure of proteins in solution.
What are pros and cons of NMR?
The proteins are in solution, and therefore may exhibit properties that are similar to a natural environment. The proteins have to be a certain size to be used in NMR, which limits the use of NMR.
What is metabolism?
A linked series of chemical reactions that begins with the conversion of a particular molecule into another. The pathways are interdependent and controlled by allosteric enzymes.
