Bio: How much ATP does cellular respiration yield?

[snlee3]

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Hi everyone!

How much ATP does cellular respiration yield?

In Cliff's it says a total of 36 (glycolysis net 2, krebs 2, and ETC 32), but in my bio class, the professor said there was a total of 32 (glycolysis net 2, krebs 2, and ETC 28)?

Thanks!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

How much ATP does cellular respiration yield?

In Cliff's it says a total of 36 (glycolysis net 2, krebs 2, and ETC 32), but in my bio class, the professor said there was a total of 32 (glycolysis net 2, krebs 2, and ETC 28)?

Thanks!

You have an excellent question that professors hear all the time. According to some of newer sources the ATP yield during aerobic respiration is not 36–38, but only about 30–32 ATP molecules / 1 molecule of glucose, because:

ATP : NADH+H+ and ATP : FADH2 ratios during the oxidative phosphorylation appear to be not 3 and 2, but 2.5 and 1.5 respectively. Unlike in the substrate-level phosphorylation, the stoichiometry here is difficult to establish.

I hope this helps...

Nancy

 

[snlee3]

How much ATP does cellular respiration yield?

In Cliff's it says a total of 36 (glycolysis net 2, krebs 2, and ETC 32), but in my bio class, the professor said there was a total of 32 (glycolysis net 2, krebs 2, and ETC 28)?

Thanks!

You have an excellent question that professors hear all the time. According to some of newer sources the ATP yield during aerobic respiration is not 36–38, but only about 30–32 ATP molecules / 1 molecule of glucose, because:

ATP : NADH+H+ and ATP : FADH2 ratios during the oxidative phosphorylation appear to be not 3 and 2, but 2.5 and 1.5 respectively. Unlike in the substrate-level phosphorylation, the stoichiometry here is difficult to establish.

I hope this helps...

Nancy

So should we be asked something about the ATP production we should go with the newer number, right? How about for the NADH that are produced during glycolysis and have to pass through the mitochondrian membrane? How many ATP are those supposed to produce?

Thanks Nancy!

 

[Leo Messi]

I was wondering the same thing. I've always been taught that NADH yields +2.5 from the ETC while FADH2 yields +1.5 from the ETC. In Cliff's it says +3 from NADH and +2 from FADH2. Should we just go with those values?

Thanks!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Yes.....I would go with the newer numbers.......If this is your only Bio concern....rest easy.🙂 If you have any other questions feel free to post them and I will always do my best to answer them.

Nancy

 

[Artdent97]

Thanks. I was wondering about this too.