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Metabolism

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The basics of cell physiology under different environmental conditions were discussed in Unit 2. Human beings need nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. Just like human beings, bacteria and fungi also need nutrients in order to survive. Bacteria and fungi have a simpler structure unlike humans but they require nutrients nevertheless. Metabolism is referred to the chemical processes that take place within an organism for the maintenance of life. There are two types of metabolism: anabolism and catabolism. These are the just the opposite of each other. Anabolism refers to all the metabolic processes that are responsible for building biomolecules and catabolism refers to all the metabolic processes that are responsible for tearing down biomolecules. These metabolic reactions are carried out by a variety of enzymes. Catabolism and anabolism are determined by our food intake. If we want good metabolism, we should follow proper diet methods and consume healthy foods. …show more content…

ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the main energy currency of a cell. We have studies the two main ways to produce energy: a) substrate level phosphorylation and b) oxidative phosphorylation. Substrate level phosphorylation is basically a metabolic reaction that results in the formation of ATP or GTP and this happens by the transfer of a phosphoryl group to ADP or GDP from another compound that is also phosphorylated. Substrate level phosphorylation directly removes a phosphate from a substrate and then transfers it to ADP. Oxidative phosphorylation refers to the metabolic pathway in which cells utilize enzymes to burn nutrients. This results in energy release which is used to reform ATP. Oxidative phosphorylation takes place in the mitochondria of the

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