Using a Fatty Acid to generate ATP Flashcards
To begin the process of converting a FA into a lot of ATP, beta-oxidation is used to convert a FA into many units of acetyl CoA.
Why is beta-oxidation required as a preparation step for generating a lot of ATP in other metabolic reactions?
How can the acetyl CoA product (of beta-oxidation) be used to begin the common metabolic pathway?
Beta-oxidation converts a FA into many units of acetyl CoA.
Acetyl CoA is the input required to begin the CMP, as the first reaction of the CMP, the CAC, requires acetyl CoA in the first step of the reaction.
Thus, for lipid to be used as a source of ATP, beta-oxidation is required to break the FA down into many units of acetyl CoA.
The lipid-derived acetyl CoA is used to begin the CAC which makes the electron-rich coenzymes NADH and FADH2, which provide the electrons to begin the ETC.
Discuss how the movement of electrons along the ETC
complexes contributes to the movement of H+ within the mitochondria?
How are H+ used in OP to generate ATP?
As electrons are passed along the complexes within the electron transport chain, the H+ channels within the protein complexes open, which allows H+ to move from the mitochondrial matrix into the intermembrane space.
Once there is sufficient H+ in the intermembrane space, the H+ can move back into the matrix via the ATP synthase protein.
As the H+ move through ATP synthase, the energy of the H+ movement (gradient) is harnessed to attach a Pi onto ADP (creating another phosphoanhydride bond) to generate ATP (ADP + Pi —-> ATP).
The amount of ATP made in OP is proportional to the amount of H+ that moves through ATP synthase.
