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1 Introduction to Metabolism WHAT IS METABOLISM ?
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Copyright Year | 2014 |
| Abstract | IF YOU ASK MY YOUNG DAUGHTER, Anjali, she will tell you that metabolism is about how we break down food and build muscles. At first glance, this is not far from the definition ofmetabolism,which is a set of pathways to build and break downmacromolecules that comprise livingmatter. Thesemacromolecules include proteins, lipids, nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), and carbohydrates; their biosynthesis is referred to as anabolism. In contrast, thesemacromolecules can also be broken down into their constituents—amino acids, fatty acids, nucleotides, and sugars—in a process referred to as catabolism. Catabolism can generate energy in the form of ATP and reducing equivalents (NADH, NADPH, and FADH2) to sustain chemical reactions of living organisms (Fig. 1-1). In contrast, anabolic reactions use ATP and reducing equivalents to reassemble products of catabolism. It is astonishing how the basic macromolecules of living matter and the metabolic pathways to generate energy and synthesize cell constituents are highly conserved among organisms. In fact, this profound similarityof basicmetabolic pathways across lifemight be the best evidence for evolution, suggesting that all living organisms evolved from a common source. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://www.cshlpress.com/pdf/sample/2014/navmetabolism/NMChap1.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
