Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) Essay -- Biology

Adenosine Tri inorganic phosphate (adenosine triphosphate)ATP stands for Adenosine Triphosphate and is the immediate supply ofenergy for biological processes. The ATP consists of an organicnitrogenous base, Adenosine, which is one of the four bases found in aDNA strand, it also consists of a ribose sugar with three phosphatesjoined by high energy bonds. The energy itself is stored in the formof high-energy chemical bonds this energy is released on hydrolysis,i.e. by the reaction with water, in a similar way peptide bonds arehydrolysed in proteins. ATP is adapted to is highly suited to its number and role within living organisms as it is easily broken downand is thus a store for immediate energy it is also a pocket-size moleculeand can easily move around cells and through membranes.The production of ATP is usu each(prenominal)y associated with two principalitiesincluding respiration and mitochondria. It is common knowledge thatrespiration, which happens in entirely living organism s, produces energyand is expressed by the equation ofGlucose + Oxygen Carbon Dioxide + Water + EnergyRespiration can be, aerobic, occurring in an oxygenated environment oranaerobic, occurring in oxygen lacking environments. The latterproducing 2 molecules of ATP and the former producing between 36- 38ATP molecules. The energy released from the respiration of glucose is employ to add inorganic phosphate to ADP, producing ATP. This isachieved by glycolysis, krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylationwhich are cumulatively known to be involved in aerobic cellularrespiration. As we shall see, this process makes use of co-enzymes much(prenominal) as ADP and Dehydrogenases such as NAD+.Glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm of a cell and involves theproduction of 2 molecules of pyruvate which occurs when glucoseundergoes phosphorylation, lysis and then oxidation, yielding pyruvateand 2 molecules of ATP along with 2 molecules of reduced NAD. Inaerobic respiration only the reduced NAD generated h ere enters amitochondrion and goes into the electron transport top where it isuse to generate 6 molecules of ATP. Hence, the net ATP produced fromglycolysis are 8 molecules of ATP.The next stage is krebs cycle which occurs in the matrix of themitochondria, the resulting product from oxdative decarboxylation ofpyruvate is progressively loyal by as series of reactions involvingfour dehydrogenations, two decarboxylations and ... ...P the hexose would not be formed and none ofthe compounds would be produced, thus the plant would not exist.ATP is used in active transport in plants, similar to the kidney inhumans. The absorption of minerals, such as nitrates & phosphatesrequire ATP, which are present in root tomentum cells. These nitrates andphosphates are used in protein and chlorophyll synthesis as well assynthesis of DNA, ATP and NADP, which are essential to the plantsgrowth. However, the mineral salts which are carried in response bythe symplast or apoplast pathway need to cross the endodermal barrier,which is impermeable. They cross the endodermal barrier by activetransport and continue their journey in solution as ions in the xylem.In conclusion, ATP is adapted to its function and is probably one ofthe most important molecules in biological processes it is producedin the mitochondria but is used all over the human body and is equallyimportant in plants, where it is produced in the thylakoids. ATP isessential for survival as it allows the growth of autotrophs and thussupports all the food chains in the world, and also is important inmaintaining and controlling the human internal environment.