Aerobic glycolysis is the first phase of aerobic cellular respiration, which breaks down glucose into carbon dioxide and water, releasing energy stored in ATP molecules. This process involves a series of complex chemical reactions, resulting in the production of two ATP molecules.
Aerobic glycolysis is the first of the three phases that make up aerobic cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is the process that occurs within all cells to release the energy stored in glucose molecules. There are two forms of cellular respiration, aerobic and anaerobic which means it requires oxygen and does not require oxygen.
All living organisms need energy to survive. That energy is received through food, which for plants also includes energy captured from the sun. Whatever form of food the body takes in, it is converted into carbohydrates, especially glucose. During cellular respiration, glucose is converted into carbon dioxide and water with the energy being released into the cell. The breakdown of glucose molecules is an oxidation reaction, so oxygen is required for the process to go ahead.
The three phases of aerobic respiration are aerobic glycolysis, the Krebs cycle and the electron transport system. During each stage, a series of chemical reactions take place that form the overall process of cellular respiration. The result of aerobic glycolysis is that one glucose molecule is broken down into two molecules of pyruvate, or pyruvic acid, which are further broken down in the Krebs cycle, and two molecules of water.
The energy that is released from cellular respiration does not happen all at once. Indeed, a part of the energy is released through each of the three main phases. When energy is released from the glucose molecule, it is not released as free energy. Energy is stored in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules, which are short-term energy storage molecules that can be easily transported within and between cells.
Energy production begins during aerobic glycolysis. During this process, two of the total 36 ATP molecules are created. All stages of cellular respiration consist of a series of complex chemical reactions. Aerobic glycolysis is actually made up of a number of different stages through which the glucose molecule moves. The energy required to produce the eight ATP molecules is released at different stages in the process.
During aerobic glycolysis, two ATP molecules are initially used to make the glucose molecule reactive enough. The glucose molecule is phosphorylated which means that the phosphate molecules are added to the glucose molecule by the ATP molecules. After glucose is phosphorylated, it splits from one six carbon sugar molecule into two three carbon sugar molecules. Hydrogen atoms are removed from the resulting three carbon sugars and two phosphates are lost from each, forming four new ATP molecules. After the glucose goes through all these steps, the end result is two molecules of carbon pyruvate, two molecules of water, and two molecules of ATP.
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