5.

9: CELLULAR RESPIRATION
AMP (adenosine monophosphate and phosphate, releasing additional
 BRING ON THE S'MORES! energy. As with ADT "recharged" to ATP, AMP can be recharged to ADP.
How much energy does it cost to do your body’s work? A single cell uses
This inviting campfire can be used for both heat and light. Heat and
about 10 million ATP molecules per second and recycles all of its ATP
light are two forms of energy that are released when a fuel like wood
molecules about every 20-30 seconds.
is burned. The cells of living things also get energy by "burning."
They "burn" glucose in the process called cellular respiration.

Figure 5.9.2 : Chemical structure of ATP consists of a 5-carbon sugar

(ribose) attached to a nitrogenous base (adenine) and three phosphates.
When the covalent bond between the terminal phosphate group and the
middle phosphate group breaks, energy is released which is used by the
cells to do work.

WHAT IS CELLULAR RESPIRATION?

Figure 5.9.1 : Burning logs that convert carbon in wood into carbon
dioxide and a significant amount of thermal energy. Some organisms can make their own food, whereas others cannot. An
autotroph is an organism that can produce its own food. The Greek roots
Inside every cell of all living things, energy is needed to carry out life of the word autotroph mean “self” (auto) “feeder” (troph). Plants are the
processes. Energy is required to break down and build up molecules and best-known autotrophs, but others exist, including certain types of
to transport many molecules across plasma membranes. All of life’s work bacteria and algae. Oceanic algae contribute enormous quantities of food
needs energy. A lot of energy is also simply lost to the environment as and oxygen to global food chains. Plants are also photoautotrophs, a
heat. The story of life is a story of energy flow — its capture, its change type of autotroph that uses sunlight and carbon from carbon dioxide to
of form, its use for work, and its loss as heat. Energy, unlike matter, synthesize chemical energy in the form of carbohydrates. Heterotrophs
cannot be recycled, so organisms require a constant input of energy. Life are organisms incapable of photosynthesis that must therefore obtain
runs on chemical energy. Where do living organisms get this chemical energy and carbon from food by consuming other organisms. The Greek
energy? roots of the word heterotroph mean “other” (hetero) “feeder” (troph),
meaning that their food comes from other organisms. Even if the food
WHERE DO ORGANISMS GET ENERGY FROM? organism is another animal, this food traces its origins back to autotrophs
and the process of photosynthesis. Humans are heterotrophs, as are all
The chemical energy that organisms need comes from food. Food consists animals. Heterotrophs depend on autotrophs, either directly or indirectly.
of organic molecules that store energy in their chemical bonds. Glucose is Cellular respiration is the process by which individual cells break down
a simple carbohydrate with the chemical formula C H O . It stores food molecules, such as glucose and release energy. The process is similar
6 12 6

chemical energy in a concentrated, stable form. In your body, glucose is to burning, although it doesn’t produce light or intense heat as a campfire
the form of energy that is carried in your blood and taken up by each of does. This is because cellular respiration releases the energy in glucose
your trillions of cells. Cells do cellular respiration to extract energy from slowly, in many small steps. It uses the energy that is released to form
the bonds of glucose and other food molecules. Cells can store the molecules of ATP, the energy-carrying molecules that cells use to power
extracted energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). biochemical processes. Cellular respiration involves many chemical
reactions, but they can all be summed up with this chemical equation:
WHAT IS ATP?
C H O +6O ⟶ 6 CO + 6 H O + Energy
Let’s take a closer look at a molecule of ATP, shown in the figure 5.9.2. 6 12 6 2 2 2

Although it carries less energy than glucose, its structure is more where the energy that is released is in chemical energy in ATP (vs.
complex. “A” in ATP refers to the majority of the molecule – adenosine – thermal energy as heat). The equation above shows that glucose (
a combination of a nitrogenous base and a five-carbon sugar. “T” and “P” C H O ) and oxygen (O ) react to form carbon dioxide (CO ) and
6 12 6 2 2

indicate the three phosphates, linked by bonds that hold the energy water H O , releasing energy in the process. Because oxygen is required
2

actually used by cells. Usually, only the outermost bond breaks to release for cellular respiration, it is an aerobic process.
or spend energy for cellular work.
Cellular respiration occurs in the cells of all living things, both autotrophs
An ATP molecule is like a rechargeable battery: its energy can be used by and heterotrophs. All of them catabolize glucose to form ATP. The
the cell when it breaks apart into ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and reactions of cellular respiration can be grouped into three main stages and
phosphate, and then the “worn-out battery” ADP can be recharged using an intermediate stage: glycolysis, Transformation of pyruvate, the
new energy to attach a new phosphate and rebuild ATP. The materials are Krebs cycle (also called the citric acid cycle), and Oxidative
recyclable, but recall that energy is not! ADP can be further reduced to

5.9.1 https://bio.libretexts.org/@go/page/17025
Phosphorylation. Figure 5.9.3 gives an overview of these three stages,
which are also described in detail below.

Figure 5.9.4 : In glycolysis, a glucose molecule is converted into two

pyruvate molecules.

RESULTS OF GLYCOLYSIS
Energy is needed at the start of glycolysis to split the glucose molecule
into two pyruvate molecules. These two molecules go on to stage II of
cellular respiration. The energy to split glucose is provided by two
molecules of ATP. As glycolysis proceeds, energy is released, and the
energy is used to make four molecules of ATP. As a result, there is a net
Figure 5.9.3 : Cellular respiration takes place in the stages shown here. gain of two ATP molecules during glycolysis. high-energy electrons are
The process begins with Glycolysis. In this first step, a molecule of
glucose, which has six carbon atoms, is split into two three-carbon also transferred to energy-carrying molecules called electron carriers
molecules. The three-carbon molecule is called pyruvate. Pyruvate is through the process
oxidized and converted into Acetyl CoA. These two steps occur in the known as reduction. The electron carrier of glycolysis is NAD+
cytoplasm of the cell. Acetyl CoA enters into the matrix of mitochondria, (nicotinamide adenine diphosphate). Electrons are transferred to 2
where it is fully oxidized into Carbon Dioxide via the Krebs cycle.
Finally, During the process of oxidative phosphorylation, the electrons NAD+ to produce two molecules of NADH. The energy stored in NADH
extracted from food move down the electron transport chain in the inner is used in stage III of cellular respiration to make more ATP. At the end of
membrane of the mitochondrion. As the electrons move down the ETC glycolysis, the following has been produced:
and finally to oxygen, they lose energy. This energy is used to • 2 molecules of NADH
phosphorylate AMP to make ATP.
• 2 net molecules of ATP

GLYCOLYSIS TRANSFORMATION OF PYRUVATE INTO ACETYL-

The first stage of cellular respiration is glycolysis. This process is shown COA
in the top box in Figure 5.9.3 showing a 6-carbon molecule being broken
In eukaryotic cells, the pyruvate molecules produced at the end of
down into two 3-carbon pyruvate molecules. ATP is produced in this
glycolysis are transported into mitochondria, which are sites of cellular
process which takes place in the cytosol of the cytoplasm.
respiration. If oxygen is available, aerobic respiration will go forward. In
SPLITTING GLUCOSE mitochondria, pyruvate will be transformed into a two-carbon acetyl
group (by removing a molecule of carbon dioxide) that will be picked up
The word glycolysis means “glucose splitting,” which is exactly what
by a carrier compound called coenzyme A (CoA), which is made from
happens in this stage. Enzymes split a molecule of glucose into two
vitamin B5. The resulting compound is called acetyl CoA and its
molecules of pyruvate (also known as pyruvic acid). This occurs in
production is frequently called the oxidation or the Transformation of
several steps, as shown in figure 5.9.4. Glucose is first split into
Pyruvate (see Figure 5.9.5. Acetyl CoA can be used in a variety of ways
glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (a molecule containing 3 carbons and a
by the cell, but its major function is to deliver the acetyl group derived
phosphate group). This process uses 2 ATP. Next, each glyceraldehyde 3-
from pyruvate to the next pathway step, the Citric Acid Cycle.
phosphate is converted into pyruvate (a 3-carbon molecule). this produces
two 4 ATP and 2 NADH.

5.9.2 https://bio.libretexts.org/@go/page/17025
 molecule that began the Krebs cycle. This molecule is needed for the next
turn through the cycle. Two turns are needed because glycolysis produces
two pyruvate molecules when it splits glucose.

Figure 5.9.5 : Pyruvate is converted into acetyl-CoA before entering the

Citric Acid Cycle (Krebs cycle)

CITRIC ACID CYCLE

Before you read about the last two stages of cellular respiration, you need
to review the structure of the mitochondrion, where these two stages take
place. As you can see from Figure 5.9.6, a mitochondrion has an inner
and outer membrane. The space between the inner and outer membrane is
called the intermembrane space. The space enclosed by the inner
membrane is called the matrix. The second stage of cellular respiration,
the Krebs cycle, takes place in the matrix. The third stage, electron
transport, takes place on the inner membrane.

Figure 5.9.7 : In the Citric Acid Cycle, the acetyl group from acetyl CoA
is attached to a four-carbon oxaloacetate molecule to form a six-carbon
Figure 5.9.6 : The structure of a mitochondrion is defined by an inner and citrate molecule. Through a series of steps, citrate is oxidized, releasing
outer membrane. The space inside the inner membrane is full of fluid, two carbon dioxide molecules for each acetyl group fed into the cycle. In
enzymes, ribosomes, and mitochondrial DNA. This space is called a the process, three NAD+ molecules are reduced to NADH, one FAD
matrix. The inner membrane has a larger surface area as compared to the molecule is reduced to FADH2, and one ATP or GTP (depending on the
outer membrane. Therefore, it creases. The extensions of the creases are cell type) is produced (by substrate-level phosphorylation). Because the
called cristae. The space between the outer and inner membrane is called final product of the citric acid cycle is also the first reactant, the cycle
intermembrane space. runs continuously in the presence of sufficient reactants.

Recall that glycolysis produces two molecules of pyruvate (pyruvic acid). RESULTS OF THE CITRIC ACID CYCLE
Pyruvate, which has three carbon atoms, is split apart and combined with
After the second turn through the Citric Acid Cycle, the original glucose
CoA, which stands for coenzyme A. The product of this reaction is
molecule has been broken down completely. All six of its carbon atoms
acetyl-CoA. These molecules enter the matrix of a mitochondrion, where
have combined with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. The energy from its
they start the Citric Acid Cycle. The third carbon from pyruvate combines
chemical bonds has been stored in a total of 16 energy-carrier molecules.
with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, which is released as a waste product.
These molecules are:
High-energy electrons are also released and captured in NADH. The
reactions that occur next are shown in Figure 5.9.7. 2 ATP
8 NADH
STEPS OF THE CITRIC ACID (KREBS) CYCLE 2 FADH 2

The Citric Acid Cycle begins when acetyl-CoA combines with a four- 6 CO : 2 CO from Transformation of Acetyl CoA and 4 CO from
2 2 2

carbon molecule called OAA (oxaloacetate; see the lower panel of Figure Citric Acid Cycle.
5.9.7). This produces citric acid, which has six carbon atoms. This is why

the Krebs cycle is also called the citric acid cycle. After citric acid forms, OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION
it goes through a series of reactions that release energy. This energy is Oxidative phosphorylation is the final stage of aerobic cellular
captured in molecules of ATP and electron carriers. The Krebs cycle has respiration. There are two substages of oxidative phosphorylation,
two types of energy-carrying electron carriers: NAD+ and FAD. The Electron transport chain and Chemiosmosis. In these stages, energy from
transfer of electrons to FAD during the Kreb’s Cycle produces a molecule NADH and FADH2, which result from the previous stages of cellular
of FADH2. Carbon dioxide is also released as a waste product of these respiration, is used to create ATP.
reactions. The final step of the Krebs cycle regenerates OAA, the

5.9.3 https://bio.libretexts.org/@go/page/17025
 Krebs cycle creates as many as 32 more ATP molecules. Therefore, a total
of up to 36 molecules of ATP can be made from just one molecule of
glucose in the process of cellular respiration.

REVIEW
1. What is the purpose of cellular respiration? Provide a concise
summary of the process.
2. Draw and explain the structure of ATP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate).
3. State what happens during glycolysis.
4. Describe the structure of a mitochondrion.
5. Outline the steps of the Krebs cycle.
6. What happens during the electron transport stage of cellular
respiration?
7. How many molecules of ATP can be produced from one molecule of
glucose during all three stages of cellular respiration combined?
Figure 5.9.8 : Oxidative Phosphorylation: Electron Transport chain and 8. Do plants undergo cellular respiration? Why or why not?
Chemiosmosis. 9. Explain why the process of cellular respiration described in this
section is considered aerobic.
ELECTRON TRANSPORT CHAIN (ETC) 10. Name three energy-carrying molecules involved in cellular respiration.
During this stage, high-energy electrons are released from NADH and 11. Energy is stored within chemical _________ within a glucose
FADH2, and they move along electron-transport chains found in the inner molecule.
membrane of the mitochondrion. An electron-transport chain is a series of 12. True or False. During cellular respiration, NADH and ATP are used to
molecules that transfer electrons from molecule to molecule by chemical make glucose.
reactions. These molecules are found making up the three complexes of 13. True or False. ATP synthase acts as both an enzyme and a channel
the electron transport chain (red structures in the inner membrane in protein.
Figure 5.9.8). As electrons flow through these molecules, some of the 14. True or False. The carbons from glucose end up in ATP molecules at
energy from the electrons is used to pump hydrogen ions (H+) across the the end of cellular respiration.
inner membrane, from the matrix into the intermembrane space. This ion 15. Which stage of aerobic cellular respiration produces the most ATP?
transfer creates an electrochemical gradient that drives the synthesis of
ATP. The electrons from the final protein of the ETC are gained by the EXPLORE MORE
oxygen molecule, and it is reduced to water in the matrix of the https://bio.libretexts.org/link?17025#Explore_More
mitochondrion.
ATTRIBUTIONS
CHEMIOSMOSIS 1. Campfire by Jon Sullivan, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The pumping of hydrogen ions across the inner membrane creates a 2. ATP structure by Mysid, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
greater concentration of these ions in the intermembrane space than in the 3. Cellular Respiration by OpenStax College, licensed CC BY 4.0 via
matrix – producing an electrochemical gradient. This gradient causes the Wikimedia Commons
ions to flow back across the membrane into the matrix, where their 4. Glycolysis by Lumen Learning, CC BY 4.0
concentration is lower. The flow of these ions occurs through a protein 5. Citric Acid Cycle by Lumen Learning, CC BY 4.0
complex, known as the ATP synthase complex (see blue structure in the 6. Mitochondria by Mariana Ruiz Villarreal LadyofHats, released into
inner membrane in Figure 5.9.8. The ATP synthase acts as a channel the public domain via Wikimedia Commons
protein, helping the hydrogen ions across the membrane. The flow of 7. Krebs Cycle by OpenStax College, licensed CC BY 4.0 via
protons through ATP synthase is considered chemiosmosis. ATP synthase Wikimedia Commons
also acts as an enzyme, forming ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate. 8. Electron Transport Chain by OpenStax College, licensed CC BY 4.0
It is the flow of hydrogen ions through ATP synthase that gives the energy via Wikimedia Commons
for ATP synthesis. After passing through the electron-transport chain, the 9. Text adapted from Human Biology by CK-12 licensed CC BY-NC 3.0
low-energy electrons combine with oxygen to form water. 10. Some text is adapted from Concepts of Biology by OpenStax licensed
CC BY 4.0
HOW MUCH ATP?
You have seen how the three stages of aerobic respiration use the energy This page titled 5.9: Cellular Respiration is shared under a CK-12 license and was
in glucose to make ATP. How much ATP is produced in all three stages authored, remixed, and/or curated by Suzanne Wakim & Mandeep Grewal via
combined? Glycolysis produces 2 ATP molecules, and the Krebs cycle source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts
platform.
produces 2 more. Electron transport from the molecules of NADH and
FADH2 made from glycolysis, the transformation of pyruvate, and the

5.9.4 https://bio.libretexts.org/@go/page/17025