Microbial

Metabolism
By:
Engr. Vera Marie L. Lanaria
ChE Dept.
CIT University
What is metabolism?
It comes from Greek word metabole ,
meaning change.
The collection of controlled biochemical
reactions that takes place within the cells of
an organism.
2 Major classes of reactions:
Catabolism

Anabolism
What is catabolism?
is the overall chemical process in which cells
break down large molecules into smaller ones
is a process that generally results in the liberation
of energy (exergonic)
a catabolic pathway will produce ATP and/or
metabolites
An example of catabolic pathway is the
breakdown of lipids into glycerol and fatty acids
What is anabolism?
is the overall process by which cells
synthesize molecules and structures
it is also referred to as biosynthesis
its a building process that generally
requires an input of energy (endergonic)
an example of anabolic pathway is the
synthesis of lipids for cell membranes from
glycerol and fatty acids
Oxidation & Reduction Reactions
(special class of reactions)
also known as redox reactions (which is involved
in many metabolic reactions)
a molecule may be oxidized in one of 3 ways:
losing a simple electron, losing a hydrogen atom,
or by gaining an oxygen atom
biological oxidation often involve the loss of
hydrogen atoms (also called dehydrogenation
reaction)
cells use electron carrier molecules to carry
electrons (often in hydrogen atoms) from
one location in a cell to another
3 important electron carrier molecules
(derived from vitamins) are nicotinamide
adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), nicotinamide
adenine denucleotide phosphate (NADP+),
and flavine adenine dinucleotide (FAD)
Phosphorylation of ADP to ATP
Insert the diagram on phosphrylation (page
129)
Carbohydrate Catabolism
describes the 3 stages of aerobic glucose
catabolism: glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and the
electron transport chain
Glucose is catabolized via one of 2
processes: cellular respiration (involves the
complete breaking down of glucose to CO
2

and H
2
O), fermentation (which results in
organic waste products)
Classroom Activity
Choose a partner and discuss the carbon
(or glucose) catabolism.
To help understand the basic reactions,
pay special attention to 3 things: the no. of
C atoms in each of the intermediate
products, the relative no. of ATP molecules
produced, and the changes in the
coenzymes NAD+ and FAD as they are
reduced and then oxidized back.