Skip to main content
Ch. 5 - Microbial Metabolism
Chapter 5, Problem 5.1a

Use the following diagrams (a), (b), and (c) for question 1.
<IMAGE>


Name pathways diagrammed in parts (a), (b), and (c) of the figure.
a. Show where glycerol is catabolized and where fatty acids are catabolized.
b. Show where glutamic acid (an amino acid) is catabolized:
<IMAGE>
c. Show how these pathways are related.
d. Where is ATP required in pathways (a) and (b)?
e. Where is CO₂ released in pathways (b) and (c)?
f. Show where a long-chain hydrocarbon such as petroleum is catabolized.
g. Where is NADH (or FADH₂ or NADPH) used and produced in these pathways?
h. Identify four places where anabolic and catabolic pathways are integrated.

Verified step by step guidance
1
Identify the pathways in diagrams (a), (b), and (c) by examining the flow of substrates and products. Common pathways include glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and beta-oxidation.
Determine where glycerol and fatty acids enter these pathways. Glycerol typically enters glycolysis, while fatty acids undergo beta-oxidation to form acetyl-CoA.
Locate where glutamic acid is catabolized. Amino acids like glutamic acid are often deaminated and enter the citric acid cycle as intermediates.
Analyze the connections between the pathways. For example, acetyl-CoA is a common intermediate linking glycolysis, beta-oxidation, and the citric acid cycle.
Identify where ATP is consumed and produced, where CO₂ is released, and where electron carriers like NADH, FADH₂, or NADPH are involved in these pathways.

Verified Solution

Video duration:
4m
This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.
Was this helpful?

Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Catabolism and Anabolism

Catabolism refers to the metabolic pathways that break down molecules to release energy, often producing ATP and reducing equivalents like NADH. In contrast, anabolism encompasses the pathways that synthesize complex molecules from simpler ones, requiring energy input. Understanding these processes is crucial for analyzing how different substrates, such as glycerol and fatty acids, are metabolized and how they contribute to cellular energy balance.
Recommended video:
Guided course
03:25
Catabolic & Anabolic Pathways

Metabolic Pathways

Metabolic pathways are series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell, where specific enzymes facilitate the conversion of substrates into products. Each pathway has distinct steps, such as glycolysis for glucose catabolism or the citric acid cycle for fatty acid breakdown. Recognizing these pathways is essential for identifying where specific metabolites, like glutamic acid or long-chain hydrocarbons, are processed and how they interconnect.
Recommended video:
Guided course
02:17
Introduction to Metabolism

Energy Carriers (ATP, NADH, FADH₂)

Energy carriers like ATP, NADH, and FADH₂ play vital roles in cellular metabolism. ATP serves as the primary energy currency, while NADH and FADH₂ are crucial for transferring electrons in redox reactions, particularly in the electron transport chain. Understanding where these molecules are produced and consumed in metabolic pathways helps elucidate energy flow and the efficiency of catabolic and anabolic processes.
Recommended video:
Guided course
04:57
Energy Coupling
Related Practice
Textbook Question

Bacteria use the enzyme urease to obtain nitrogen in a form they can use from urea in the following reaction:

<IMAGE>

What purpose does the enzyme serve in this reaction? What type of reaction is this?

124
views
Textbook Question

The best definition of ATP is that it is

a. a molecule stored for food use.

b. a molecule that supplies energy to do work.

c. a molecule stored for an energy reserve.

d. a molecule used as a source of phosphate.

140
views
Textbook Question

DRAW IT The artificial sweetener aspartame, or NutraSweet®, is made by joining aspartic acid to methylated phenylalanine, as shown in the following.

<IMAGE>

a. What types of molecules are aspartic acid and phenylalanine?

b. What direction is the hydrolysis reaction (left to right or right to left)?

c. What direction is the dehydration synthesis reaction?

d. Circle the atoms involved in the formation of water.

e. Identify the peptide bond.

123
views
Textbook Question

DRAW IT What nutritional type is a colorless microbe that uses the Calvin-Benson cycle, uses H₂ as the electron donor to its ETC, and uses elemental S as the final electron acceptor in the ETC?

115
views
Textbook Question

Which substance in the following reaction is being reduced?

<IMAGE>

a. acetaldehyde

b. NADH

c. ethanol

d. NAD⁺

112
views
Textbook Question

Use the following choices to answer questions 7–10.

a. E. coli growing in glucose broth at 35℃ with O₂ for 5 days

b. E. coli growing in glucose broth at 35℃ without O₂ for 5 days

c. both a and b

d. neither a nor b


Which culture uses the most glucose?

123
views