Plant Metabolism an Overview

-  Metabolism - Putting It All Together

I.              Overview of metabolism

                A.            Photosynthesis

                                1.             Non-cyclic photophosphorylation

                                2.             Calvin cycle

                B.            Respiration

                                1.             Glycolysis

                                2.             Krebs cycle

                                3.             Oxidative phosphorylation

II.            How do all these reactions occur?

                A.            What we're up against - Thermodynamics

                                1.             First law - conservation

                                2.             Second law - entropy

                B.            We need something to drive metabolic reactions - CATALYSTS!!

                                1.             Enzymes

                                                a)             Function as catalysts

                                                b)             Neither created nor destroyed in the reaction

                                                c)             Lower activation energy

III.           Where do the enzymes come from?

                A.            Enzymes are proteins

                B.            Protein synthesis - DNA makes RNA makes protein

                C.            Genetic code:  AT & GC (Note:  in RNA, U=T)

                D.            Triplets - AUG = Methionine or start ; UUU = Phenylalanine ; UAA = stop

                E.             Many, many triplets make a protein....i.e., an enzyme

IV.           Metabolism

                A.            DNA makes RNA makes protein....enzymes

                B.            Enzymes regulate metabolism

                C.            Metabolism

                                1.             Photosynthesis

                                2.             Respiration

                                3.             Secondary