Cellular respiration is the process by which cells derive energy from glucose (or other organic compounds) to fuel their metabolic activities. The energy from glucose is released in a series of chemical reactions notably called glycolysis, the citric acid or Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation.
During glycolysis, a single molecule of glucose is converted into two molecules of pyruvate, ATP (adenosine triphosphate), and NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide).
The pyruvate molecules then enter the mitochondria and undergo the citric acid cycle, which produces additional NADH, FADH2 (flavin adenine dinucleotide), and ATP.
The NADH and FADH2 produced during the first two steps then pass through the electron transport chain, a series of proteins embedded in the inner mitochondrial membrane, which generates a proton gradient across the membrane. The flow of protons down the gradient through the ATP synthase enzyme drives the production of additional ATP.
Overall cellular respiration can produce up to 38 molecules of ATP per molecule of glucose, which can then be used by the cell to perform work.
How does energy release in cellular respiration?
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