Heterotroph: Catabolism & ATP Production

Energy & Cell Function

Energy harnessing

Introduction

(energy transforms from long-term chemical energy to short-term chemical energy and heat energy)

As to heterotroph, energy production accompanies with catabolism of organic macromolecules in their cell. The main three macromolecules, which can provide energy for surviving heterotroph cells, are carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The following schematic shows their catabolism pathways and ATP production in a cell. During the process, part of the long-term energy is transformed into short-term chemical energy (ATP), and the other is lost as heat energy. The carbohydrates are the first substrate that is burned to provide energy for the cell. Moreover, the catabolism of carbohydrates is the most important parts. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats catabolisms are combined together via Krebs cycle. Here we focus on the catabolism of carbohydrates and the energy production in this process.