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Glyolysis and Glycolytic Pathway: Introduction, Importance

Glycolysis is a fundamental metabolic pathway that occurs in the cytoplasm of cells and is crucial for the breakdown of glucose into pyruvate.
authorImageJasdeep Bhatia19 Jun, 2024
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Glyolysis and Glycolytic Pathway

If you are looking for an explanation of glycolysis and glycolytic pathway, you are at the right place. The article will discuss the glycolysis process and the glycolytic pathway. This article aims to deliver a precise overview of this topic, which covers all the information you need to know.

Introduction

Assume we gave you one molecule of glucose and Lactobacillus acidophilus—the friendly bacterium that converts milk into yoghurt—another molecule of glucose. What will you and the bacterial infection do with your glucose molecules? Glucose metabolism in one of your cells would differ from that of Lactobacillus. However, the first step in both cases would be the same: you and the bacterium need glycolysis to split the glucose molecule into two parts.

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What Is Glcolysis?

The process of transitioning glucose into energy is called glycolysis. It produces two pyruvate molecules and ATP, NADH, and water. It doesn't require oxygen, which occurs in a cell's cytoplasm. It is present in both anaerobic and aerobic organisms. The first stage of cellular respiration in all organisms is glycolysis. The Krebs cycle is usually followed by glycolysis during aerobic respiration. The cells produce small amounts of ATP through glycolysis in the absence of oxygen, followed by fermentation.

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Glcolysis Pathway

The following steps constitute glycolysis:
  1. In the cell cytoplasm, the hexokinase adds phosphate to glucose. The transfer of a phosphate group from ATP to glucose results in glucose, 6-phosphate.
  2. The enzyme phosphoglucomutase converts glucose-6-phosphate to fructose-6-phosphate.
  3. The other ATP molecule adds a phosphate group to fructose 6-phosphate, which is then converted into fructose 1, 6-bisphosphate by the enzyme phosphofructokinase.
  4. Aldolase is an enzyme that converts fructose 1,6-bisphosphate into isomers of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate.
  5. Triose-phosphate isomerase converts dihydroxyacetone phosphate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, the substrate for the next step of glycolysis.
  6. This step causes two reactions: 1) To form NADH+,  H+, the enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase transfers one hydrogen molecule from glyceraldehyde phosphate to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. 2) To form 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase adds a phosphate to the oxidised glyceraldehyde phosphate.
  7. Phosphate is converted from 1, 3-bisphosphoglycerate to ADP by phosphoglycerokinase to form ATP. At the end of this reaction, two molecules of phosphoglycerate and ATP are obtained.
  8. The enzyme phosphoglyceromutase moves the phosphate from the third to the second carbon of both phosphoglycerate molecules, resulting in two molecules of 2-phosphoglycerate.
  9. Enolase is an enzyme that converts 2-phosphoglycerate to phosphoenolpyruvate by removing a water molecule.
  10. Pyruvate kinase transfers a phosphate from phosphoenolpyruvate to ADP to form pyruvate and ATP. The end products are two molecules of pyruvate and ATP.

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What is the Glycolytic Pathway?

The body has several critical metabolic pathways, including the glycolytic pathway. It consists of a series of enzymatic reactions that convert glucose (glycolysis) into pyruvate, resulting in the energy sources adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). Various inherited defects in pathway enzymes are possible.

DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH GLYCOLYTIC PATHWAYS ARE:

  • lack of glycolytic enzymes such as hexokinase can cause diabetes. Pyruvate kinase deficiencies can also cause heart disease. The glycolysis pathway is critical for tumour cell survival. Because the Warburg effect allows cancer cells to avoid oxidative phosphorylation, they frequently rely on glycolysis for energy.
  • Diseases caused by an overactive glycolytic pathway are uncommon but can be fatal. Lactic acidosis, or a buildup of lactate in the blood, can result from excessive glycolysis. Problems with the glycolysis enzymes or a lack of oxygen can cause lactic acidosis. Lactic acidosis can result in serious health complications such as coma and death.

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Importance Of Glycolysis

Because glucose is converted into cellular energy via the metabolic process of glycolysis, glycolysis is significant. All living organisms rely on glucose as their primary source of energy. Glucose is the preferred fuel for the vast majority of cells in the human body:
  • It is the only fuel available to red blood cells.
  • Under normal circumstances, the brain's preferred fuel.
  • The primary source of fuel for muscles during strenuous exercise.

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Q1- Where does Glycolysis occur?

Ans- Within the cytoplasm, glycolysis takes place. Anaerobic respiration occurs in the cytoplasm, whereas aerobic respiration occurs inside the mitochondria. The process of glycolysis frequently occurs in both aerobic and anaerobic respiration. The sugar glucose (C6H12O6) is broken into two pyruvic acids (CH3COCOOH). Pyruvic acid is transformed into acetyl coenzyme A during aerobic respiration, entering the mitochondrion's citric acid cycle. During anaerobic respiration in the cytoplasm, pyruvic acid is converted into lactic acid or ethyl liquor (C2H5OH) and CO2.

Q2- What do you understand by the term glycolysis?

Ans- A process in which cells partially break down glucose (sugar) in enzyme reactions that do not require oxygen. Glycolysis is one method by which cells generate energy. When glycolysis is combined with other oxygen-using enzyme reactions, a complete breakdown of glucose is possible, and more energy is produced.

Q3- What are the salient features of Glycolysis?

Ans- Features of Glycolysis include the following: Glycolysis occurs in all body cells. The glycolysis enzymes are mostly found in the cell's cytosol. Both the presence and absence of oxygen are necessary for glycolysis to occur. Pyruvate, a product of aerobic glycolysis, is oxidised to produce CO2 and water. Anaerobic glycolysis results in lactate as its final byproduct. It is the primary pathway for ATP synthesis in tissues lacking mitochondria. For instance, RBCs.
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