Asked by Eli
Where does the mitochondria get the glucose from?
Eating
The sun
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Short answer: Eating.
Longer explanation:
- In animals (including humans) mitochondria get the fuel (glucose and others) from the blood after you eat. Carbohydrates in food are digested to glucose, absorbed into the bloodstream, taken up by cells via glucose transporters, broken down by glycolysis to pyruvate, and the pyruvate enters mitochondria for the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation to make ATP.
- Plants and some microbes can make glucose from sunlight by photosynthesis (in chloroplasts). In those organisms the sunlight is converted into chemical energy (glucose), and their mitochondria can then burn that glucose for ATP.
- Also note mitochondria can burn other fuels besides glucose: fatty acids (via beta‑oxidation), ketone bodies and certain amino acids.
Longer explanation:
- In animals (including humans) mitochondria get the fuel (glucose and others) from the blood after you eat. Carbohydrates in food are digested to glucose, absorbed into the bloodstream, taken up by cells via glucose transporters, broken down by glycolysis to pyruvate, and the pyruvate enters mitochondria for the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation to make ATP.
- Plants and some microbes can make glucose from sunlight by photosynthesis (in chloroplasts). In those organisms the sunlight is converted into chemical energy (glucose), and their mitochondria can then burn that glucose for ATP.
- Also note mitochondria can burn other fuels besides glucose: fatty acids (via beta‑oxidation), ketone bodies and certain amino acids.
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