Chapter 9 (Continued)

 

 The Pentose Phosphate Pathway

 

§      The Hexose Monophosphate Shunt

 

§      Can be used at the same time as the glycolytic pathway or the ED.

 

§      A pathway that is, in its entirety, is seldom used by anaerobic microorganisms, but can be operated both aerobically and anerobically.

 

§      Aerobic organisms can use the complete pathway to produce Ribulose 5-phosphate:

o     which is used in the biosynthesis of nucleic acids and to produce reduced NADP

 

§       The NADPH produced by HMP is used for anabolic – biosynthesis, rather than catabolic pathways.

 

§       In addition to the 5 carbon sugars, HMP also produces 4-C sugars - erythrose 4-phosphate:

o     Needed for synthesis of aromatic amino acids.

 

§       If the microorganism is using a 5 carbon sugar as its sole carbon source, the HMP can serve as a source of 6-carbon sugars:

o     glucose is required for peptidoglycan synthesis

 

§       Thus the HMP has both catabolic and anabolic functions, this is a good example of an AMPHIBOLIC pathway.

 

§       Two unique enzymes of this pathway:

    1.    Transketolase:  catalyzes the transfer of a                       2-carbon ketol group

       2.     Transaldolase:  transfers a three-carbon  

               group from sedoheptulose 7 phosphate to

              glyceraldehydes 3 P.

 

§      Glucose 6Pà Fructose 6P + G3P

§      G3P enter 3 Carbon stage of Glycolytic pathway

§      Then converted:

     G3P à ATP + Pyruvate.

    Production of NADPH, which can be converted to   

    NADH yielding ATP when oxidized by electrons

   transport chain.

 

                                

Entner-Douderoff Pathway

 

§       Some microorganisms lack the embden meyerhoff pathway for the metabolism of glucose.  These organisms use a different pathway, which was discovered by Entner and Doudoroff.

 

§      The initial substrate in the ED and EMP pathway is glucose, but the two pathways differ in the final electron acceptor molecule and the total energy yield.

 

§      The cell expends one ATP to make glucose 6-phosphate and then converts it to 6 phospho-gluconate using NADP+ to produce NADPH.

 

§      6 phospho-gluconate is dehydrated to form a 6 carbon

    unit the key intermediate in this pathway, 2 keto-  

    3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate or KDPG.

 

§      KDPG is then cleaved by an aldolase (KDPG aldolase) to yield pyruvate and G3P.

 

§      G3P à to pyruvate with the production of ATP and NADH (Same as the bottom part of the glycolyitc pathway).

 

§      If ED pathway each glucose metabolized to pyruvate the yield of energy is:

o     1 ATP

o     1 NADPH

o     1 NADH

    Calculate:      used ATP to phosphate glucose

                  G6P to 6-Pgluconate (make NADPH)

           

§      The ED is pathway is not used by all microorganisms,

        it is frequently used by aerobic microorganisms, which     rely on respiration for the majority of their ATP     synthesis.

§      Anaerobic microorganisms, as a rule will not use ED,

        but will use HMP because they can generate more

        ATP.

§      Mostly seen in the gram negative bacteria.  Very few gram positive have with the exception of Enterococcus faecalis.

 

 

Fermentaion

 

§       Pyruvic acid is readily available from the breakdown of glucose in a variety of metabolic pathways.

§       Many cells use pyruvate, or molecules derived from pyruvate as a terminal electron acceptor to produce waste products that are exported out of the cell.

 

Lactic acid fermentation

               NADH                  NAD+

                      \                        /

Pyruvate   ————————————> Lactate

                                    Reduction

 

This fermentation pathway is found in many bacteria and is

exploited in the production of yogurt, cheese, buttermilk,

sourcream, and that large clump that forms in your milk

carton.

 

Two Groups of Lactic Acid Fermenters:

 

1.  Homolactic Fermenters:

§      Organisms which produce only lactic acid

 

2.  Heterolactic Fermenters:

§      organisms which can produce other products in

    addition to lactate    ie  EtOH and/or Lactate, CO2

 

Alcoholic fermentation:

§      Alcohol is produced by a two step reaction process.

o     First pyruvate is decarboxylated to acetaldehyde

                which is in turn reduced to Ethanol with NADH                 as the electron donor.

§      Fungi, some bacteria, algae, and protozoa.

 

 

Formic acid fermentation:

§      Many bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae) are able to split the 3 carbon pyruvate into formic acid (1-c) and a variety of other metabolic products.

§      The pathways used to produce formate is a very useful tool in identifying the enteric bacteria.  There are essentially two routes to format...

 

Mixed Acid Fermentation:

§       Ethanol is produced and secreted along with a complex mixture of other fermentation products, particularly acetic, lactaic, succinic and formic acids.

§       If the organism possesses the enzyme complex formic hydrogenylase, it will convert formic acid into CO2 and H2 gas.

§       Mixed acid fermentation produces considerably more acid than the other fermentation pathways, and consequently results in a significant change in pH

§       This fermentation pattern is seen with Escherichia, Salmonella, Proteus, and other genera.

 


Butanediol fermentation:

§       Pyruvate is converted to acetoin, which is subsequently reduced to 2,3-butanediol

§       This pathway produces a large amount of alcohol, CO2 and H2, and very little acid via the mixed acid pathways.

§       It is important to emphasize that the cells are not committed to a single pathway... some of the pyruvate in still being converted to formate via alternate routes, but the vast majority is being converted to butanediol

§       Butanediol fermentation is a characteristic property of bacteria belonging to Enterobacter, Serratia, Erwinia genera, and some species of Bacillus.

§       The butanediol fermenters produce neutral end products while mixed acid fermenters produce a significant amount of acid end-products (4 times) which can drop the pH lower than 4.4.

§       The acid end products can easily be identified by adding a pH indicator to the growth medium, (ie methyl red (red @ acid)) but the neutral end products will not react

§       The voges proskauer test is designed to identify butanediol fermenters by detecting acetion, the precursor of butanediol.

 

 


The Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle – Citric Acid Cycle –

(Krebs Cycle):

 

In this cycle:

§       Energy is released from the breakdown of glucose to pyruvate, much more energy is released when pyruvate is degraded aerobically to CO2 .

§       TCA is a 3 stage Catabolic process

    1.    Attachment of a acetyl group to the acetyl carrier,               oxaloacetate to form citrate.

    2.    Begins with citrate and end in the formation of                   succinly CO-A: acetyl carrier portion of citrate loses            two carbons when oxidized to CO2.

    3.    Convert succinyl-Co back to oxaloacetate, the acetyl         carrier, so that it can pick up another acetyl group.

 

The TCA cycle consists of a set of 8 enzymes that further break down the two acetyl Co-A molecules into 4 CO2

TCA figure:

 

§        2 (3-carbon) pyruvate molecules are broken down into

    2 (2 carbon) acetyl coenzyme A molecules (acetyl-CoA)     (an energy-rich molecule) and 2 CO2 molecules by

 

§       Pyruvate Dehydrogenase(multi-enzyme system)

    an enzyme reaction which links the Embden Meyerhoff     pathway and the Citric Acid Cycle.

 


Isocitrate  oxidixed and decarboxylated (2x) à alpha ketoglutarate.

o     2 NADHs

o     2 Carbons are lost as CO2  maintaining the balance because 2 carbons were added at the beginning.

 

Succiny CoA à Succinate

o     substrate level phosphorlyation, where GTP (high energy molecule equivalent to ATP)is formed

 

Succinate à Fumarate (Four carbon stage)

o     1 FADH2

o     1 NADH

 

TCA cycle generates:

o     2 CO2s

o     3 NADHs

o     1 FADH2

o     1 GTP

For each acetyl CoA molecule oxidized.

 

Electron Transport Chain

 

§       The reduction of O2 occurs in the cell membrane and is mediated by a series of proteins which are collectively called the electron transport chain.

 

§       The electron transport chain consists of:

o     Cytochromes:a series of heme containing proteins                               that transport electrons.

 

o     a series of nonheme iron sulfur proteins and quinones

 

§       The electron transport system is essentially a proton pump which establishes a proton gradient across the cell membrane

§       As electrons flow through the ETS, they are periodically moved from the inside to the outside of the cell membrane

o     Electron Transport Chain carriers are on the inside of the inner membrane of the mitochondrion or the bacterial plasma membrane

 

§       This translocation of proton drops the pH of the periplasm to ~ 5.5 while the cytoplasm (inside) remains at ~8.5, a difference of 3 pH units or 1000X concentration difference.  This charge differential represents potential energy which is stored up in the proton gradient.

§       This energy is referred to as the proton motive force

 

Proton Motive Force:

§       The force arising from a gradient of protons and a membrane potential that is thought to power ATP synthesis and other processes.

 

Since the membrane is impermeable to protons, the only way that these protons can re-enter the cell is through a transport protein.

 

o     ATP synthase is a protein complex which forms a channel that will let protons pass through the membrane.

 

o     As the protons push through the channel, there is energy used to convert ADP and Pi to ATP

 

o     Oxidative Phosphorylation or chemi-osmotic phosphorylation (Peter Mitchell 1961) is when the energy from electeon transport is used to make ATP.

 

o     Substrate level phosphorylation  refers to the synthesis of ATP by phosphoryl group transfer directly catalyzed by catabolic enzymes.

 

 


The second way that a cell can store energy is by maintaining a proton (or charge) gradient across the cell membrane.

 

The phopholipid bilayer that composes the cell membrane is impermeable to protons.  The cell uses a set of transport proteins to pump protons across the membrane, out of the cell

 

This creates a proton gradient across the membrane, High proton outside...low proton inside.

(the proton gradient is a reservoir of potential energy that can be harnessed in a controlled fashion to generate high energy bonds in the form of ATP)

The cells can then allow the protons to re-enter the cell in a controlled fashion, and the energy derived from this movement can be used to do work.

 

This is analogous to water stored behind a dam Respiration

In respiration, the terminal electron (or H) acceptor molecules are generally inorganic.  There are some exceptions, such as with fumarate and trimethylamine oxide)

 

In aerobic respiration, molecular oxygen is used as the terminal electron acceptor

In anaerobic respiration, comp[ounds such as NO3-, SO3- (sulfate) and other compound substitute for oxygen as the final H acceptor molecule

 

The equasion for aerobic respiration can be expressed as follows: