What converts food to energy found in plant and animal cells?

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The particular energy pathway that a cell employs depends in large part on whether that cell is a eukaryote or a prokaryote. Eukaryotic cells use three major processes to transform the energy held in the chemical bonds of food molecules into more readily usable forms — often energy-rich carrier molecules. Adenosine 5'-triphosphate, or ATP, is the most abundant energy carrier molecule in cells. This molecule is made of a nitrogen base (adenine), a ribose sugar, and three phosphate groups. The word adenosine refers to the adenine plus the ribose sugar. The bond between the second and third phosphates is a high-energy bond (Figure 5).

The first process in the eukaryotic energy pathway is glycolysis, which literally means "sugar splitting." During glycolysis, single molecules of glucose are split and ultimately converted into two molecules of a substance called pyruvate; because each glucose contains six carbon atoms, each resulting pyruvate contains just three carbons. Glycolysis is actually a series of ten chemical reactions that requires the input of two ATP molecules. This input is used to generate four new ATP molecules, which means that glycolysis results in a net gain of two ATPs. Two NADH molecules are also produced; these molecules serve as electron carriers for other biochemical reactions in the cell.

Glycolysis is an ancient, major ATP-producing pathway that occurs in almost all cells, eukaryotes and prokaryotes alike. This process, which is also known as fermentation, takes place in the cytoplasm and does not require oxygen. However, the fate of the pyruvate produced during glycolysis depends upon whether oxygen is present. In the absence of oxygen, the pyruvate cannot be completely oxidized to carbon dioxide, so various intermediate products result. For example, when oxygen levels are low, skeletal muscle cells rely on glycolysis to meet their intense energy requirements. This reliance on glycolysis results in the buildup of an intermediate known as lactic acid, which can cause a person's muscles to feel as if they are "on fire." Similarly, yeast, which is a single-celled eukaryote, produces alcohol (instead of carbon dioxide) in oxygen-deficient settings.

In contrast, when oxygen is available, the pyruvates produced by glycolysis become the input for the next portion of the eukaryotic energy pathway. During this stage, each pyruvate molecule in the cytoplasm enters the mitochondrion, where it is converted into acetyl CoA, a two-carbon energy carrier, and its third carbon combines with oxygen and is released as carbon dioxide. At the same time, an NADH carrier is also generated. Acetyl CoA then enters a pathway called the citric acid cycle, which is the second major energy process used by cells. The eight-step citric acid cycle generates three more NADH molecules and two other carrier molecules: FADH2 and GTP (Figure 6, middle).

The third major process in the eukaryotic energy pathway involves an electron transport chain, catalyzed by several protein complexes located in the mitochondrional inner membrane. This process, called oxidative phosphorylation, transfers electrons from NADH and FADH2 through the membrane protein complexes, and ultimately to oxygen, where they combine to form water. As electrons travel through the protein complexes in the chain, a gradient of hydrogen ions, or protons, forms across the mitochondrial membrane. Cells harness the energy of this proton gradient to create three additional ATP molecules for every electron that travels along the chain. Overall, the combination of the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation yields much more energy than fermentation - 15 times as much energy per glucose molecule! Together, these processes that occur inside the mitochondion, the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, are referred to as respiration, a term used for processes that couple the uptake of oxygen and the production of carbon dioxide (Figure 6).

The electron transport chain in the mitochondrial membrane is not the only one that generates energy in living cells. In plant and other photosynthetic cells, chloroplasts also have an electron transport chain that harvests solar energy. Even though they do not contain mithcondria or chloroplatss, prokaryotes have other kinds of energy-yielding electron transport chains within their plasma membranes that also generate energy.

Learning Objectives
  • Summarize the ways in which animals obtain, store, and use food energy

Animals need food to obtain energy and maintain homeostasis. Homeostasis is the ability of a system to maintain a stable internal environment even in the face of external changes to the environment. For example, the normal body temperature of humans is 37°C (98.6°F). Humans maintain this temperature even when the external temperature is hot or cold. The energy it takes to maintain this body temperature is obtained from food.

The primary source of energy for animals is carbohydrates, primarily glucose: the body’s fuel. The digestible carbohydrates in an animal’s diet are converted to glucose molecules and into energy through a series of catabolic chemical reactions.

Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is the primary energy currency in cells. ATP stores energy in phosphate ester bonds, releasing energy when the phosphodiester bonds are broken: ATP is converted to ADP and a phosphate group. ATP is produced by the oxidative reactions in the cytoplasm and mitochondrion of the cell, where carbohydrates, proteins, and fats undergo a series of metabolic reactions collectively called cellular respiration.

What converts food to energy found in plant and animal cells?
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): ATP production pathways: ATP is the energy molecule of the cell. It is produced through various pathways during the cellular respiration process, with each making different amounts of energy.

ATP is required for all cellular functions. It is used to build the organic molecules that are required for cells and tissues. It also provides energy for muscle contraction and for the transmission of electrical signals in the nervous system. When the amount of ATP available is in excess of the body’s requirements, the liver uses the excess ATP and excess glucose to produce molecules called glycogen (a polymeric form of glucose) that is stored in the liver and skeletal muscle cells. When blood sugar drops, the liver releases glucose from stores of glycogen. Skeletal muscle converts glycogen to glucose during intense exercise. The process of converting glucose and excess ATP to glycogen and the storage of excess energy is an evolutionarily-important step in helping animals deal with mobility, food shortages, and famine.

  • Animals obtain energy from the food they consume, using that energy to maintain body temperature and perform other metabolic functions.
  • Glucose, found in the food animals eat, is broken down during the process of cellular respiration into an energy source called ATP.
  • When excess ATP and glucose are present, the liver converts them into a molecule called glycogen, which is stored for later use.
  • glucose: a simple monosaccharide (sugar) with a molecular formula of C6H12O6; it is a principal source of energy for cellular metabolism
  • adenosine triphosphate: a multifunctional nucleoside triphosphate used in cells as a coenzyme, often called the “molecular unit of energy currency” in intracellular energy transfer
  • phosphodiester: any of many biologically active compounds in which two alcohols form ester bonds with phosphate

Animal cells use mitochondria to convert food into energy and plant cells use both chloroplasts and mitochondria to make energy from light air and water.

What cell function converts food into energy?

Summary. Through the process of cellular respiration the energy in food is converted into energy that can be used by the body’s cells. During cellular respiration glucose and oxygen are converted into carbon dioxide and water and the energy is transferred to ATP.

What do lysosomes and Golgi have in common?

What do lysosomes and Golgi bodies have in common? They’re the twin “command centers” of the cell. They break down food and release energy. They’re examples of cell organelles.

Which organelle captures the energy from sunlight and converts it to chemical energy and in which cells could it be found quizlet?

O is chloroplast an organelle that captures the energy of sunlight and converts it into chemical energy.

What is the process of turning food into energy called?

The cellular process of releasing energy from food through a series of enzyme-controlled reactions is called respiration . Some of the energy released is used to produce ATP. … Aerobic respiration occurs if oxygen is present in the cell.

What does the mitochondria convert into energy?

The machinery that the mitochondria use to convert energy is called the electron transport chain. Mitochondria convert chemical energy in the form of a chemical called adenosine triphosphate or ATP for short. ATP is an energy currency that every cell in our body can use.

How does food break down into energy?

When the stomach digests food the carbohydrate (sugars and starches) in the food breaks down into another type of sugar called glucose. The stomach and small intestines absorb the glucose and then release it into the bloodstream. … However our bodies need insulin in order to use or store glucose for energy.

What is peroxisome and its function?

Peroxisomes are organelles that sequester diverse oxidative reactions and play important roles in metabolism reactive oxygen species detoxification and signaling. Oxidative pathways housed in peroxisomes include fatty acid β-oxidation which contributes to embryogenesis seedling growth and stomatal opening.

Where do ribosomes go?

Ribosomes are found ‘free’ in the cytoplasm or bound to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to form rough ER. In a mammalian cell there can be as many as 10 million ribosomes. Several ribosomes can be attached to the same mRNA strand this structure is called a polysome.

What organelle produces the lysosomes?

Lysosomes are spherical membrane bound organelles that are generated by the golgi apparatus. They contain hydrolytic enzymes and so function as part of the recycling system of the cell.

What organelle captures energy from sunlight and converts it into food that contains energy?

Chloroplasts work to convert light energy of the Sun into sugars that can be used by cells. It is like a solar panel that changes sunlight energy into electric energy. The entire process is called photosynthesis and it all depends on the little green chlorophyll molecules in each chloroplast.

What is the organelle that converts sunlight into energy?

(B) The chloroplast converts energy from sunlight.

What converts light energy into food through photosynthesis?

photosynthesis the process by which green plants and certain other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy. During photosynthesis in green plants light energy is captured and used to convert water carbon dioxide and minerals into oxygen and energy-rich organic compounds.

What is the process of turning food into energy called quizlet?

Cellular Respiration converts the food molecules into useable ATP.

What is the energy molecule of the cell called?

Adenosine 5′-triphosphate
Adenosine 5′-triphosphate or ATP is the most abundant energy carrier molecule in cells. This molecule is made of a nitrogen base (adenine) a ribose sugar and three phosphate groups.

What is the mitochondria function?

Mitochondria are membrane-bound cell organelles (mitochondrion singular) that generate most of the chemical energy needed to power the cell’s biochemical reactions. Chemical energy produced by the mitochondria is stored in a small molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

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Does the mitochondria convert food into energy?

Mitochondria using oxygen available within the cell convert chemical energy from food in the cell to energy in a form usable to the host cell. The process is called oxidative phosphorylation and it happens inside mitochondria.

What is Golgi apparatus function?

A Golgi body also known as a Golgi apparatus is a cell organelle that helps process and package proteins and lipid molecules especially proteins destined to be exported from the cell.

What does the lysosome do?

A lysosome is a membrane-bound cell organelle that contains digestive enzymes. Lysosomes are involved with various cell processes. They break down excess or worn-out cell parts. They may be used to destroy invading viruses and bacteria.

Which system gives us energy from food?

Food energy is chemical energy that animals (including humans) derive from their food and molecular oxygen through the process of cellular respiration.

What energy carrying molecule is created in this process?

ATP is the energy-carrying molecule produced by the mitochondria through a series of chemical reactions. The more active a cell (such as a muscle cell) the more mitochondria it will have.

What converts sugar into energy in a cell?

Cells convert glucose to ATP in a process called cellular respiration. Cellular respiration: process of turning glucose into energy In the form of ATP. Before cellular respiration can begin glucose must be refined into a form that is usable by the mitochondrion.

Is peroxisome an organelle?

Peroxisomes are small membrane-enclosed organelles (Figure 10.24) that contain enzymes involved in a variety of metabolic reactions including several aspects of energy metabolism.

What is a ribosomes function?

A ribosome is a cellular particle made of RNA and protein that serves as the site for protein synthesis in the cell. The ribosome reads the sequence of the messenger RNA (mRNA) and using the genetic code translates the sequence of RNA bases into a sequence of amino acids.

What do ribosomes do?

Ribosomes are the sites in a cell in which protein synthesis takes place. … Within the ribosome the rRNA molecules direct the catalytic steps of protein synthesis — the stitching together of amino acids to make a protein molecule.

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How do Golgi bodies and lysosomes work together?

Lysosomes hold enzymes that were created by the cell. … The Golgi then does its final work to create the digestive enzymes and pinches off a small very specific vesicle. That vesicle is a lysosome. From there the lysosomes float in the cytoplasm until they are needed.

Are ribosomes eukaryotic or prokaryotic?

Ribosomes are special because they are found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. While a structure such as a nucleus is only found in eukaryotes every cell needs ribosomes to manufacture proteins.

What is the relationship between Golgi and nucleus?

The Golgi apparatus is found close to the nucleus of the cell where it modifies proteins that have been delivered in transport vesicles from the RER. It is also involved in the transport of lipids around the cell. Pieces of the Golgi membrane pinch off to form vesicles that transport molecules around the cell.

What organelle produces ribosome?

The nucleolus
The nucleolus is a region found within the cell nucleus that is concerned with producing and assembling the cell’s ribosomes. Following assembly ribosomes are transported to the cell cytoplasm where they serve as the sites for protein synthesis.

Does Golgi produce lysosomes?

Lysosome enzymes are made by proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum and enclosed within vesicles by the Golgi apparatus. Lysosomes are formed by budding from the Golgi complex.

Which organelle structure that manufactures ribosomes?

The Nucleolus – The nucleolus is a membrane-less organelle within the nucleus that manufactures ribosomes the cell’s protein-producing structures. Through the microscope the nucleolus looks like a large dark spot within the nucleus.

Which organelle is found in photosynthetic organisms and captures energy from the sun lysosome chloroplast Golgi body nucleus?

Explanation: Chloroplasts are organelles found in the broccoli’s cells along with those of other plants and algae. They capture light energy and store it as fuel molecules in the plant’s tissues.

What captures energy from sunlight and converts it into chemical energy?

The electromagnetic energy of sunlight is converted to chemical energy in the chlorophyll-containing cells of photosynthetic organisms. In eukaryotic cells these reactions occur in the organelle known as the chloroplast. In the chloroplast chlorophyll is the pigment that absorbs the sunlight.

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