The citric acid cycle—also known as the Krebs cycle, Szent–Györgyi–Krebs cycle or the TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle)—is a series of biochemical reactions to release the energy stored in nutrients through the oxidation of acetyl-CoA derived from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The chemical energy released is available under the form of ATP. The Krebs cycle is used by organisms that respire (as opposed to organisms that ferment) to generate energy, either by anaerobic respiration or aerobic respiration. In addition, the cycle provides precursors of certain amino acids, as well as the reducing agent NADH, that are used in numerous other reactions. Its central importance to many biochemical pathways suggests that it was one of the earliest components of metabolism. Even though it is branded as a "cycle", it is not necessary for metabolites to follow only one specific route; at least three alternative segments of the citric acid cycle have been recognized.
Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose into pyruvate and, in most organisms, occurs in the liquid part of cells. The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). Glycolysis is a sequence of ten reactions catalyzed by enzymes.
A dehydrogenase is an enzyme belonging to the group of oxidoreductases that oxidizes a substrate by reducing an electron acceptor, usually NAD+/NADP+ or a flavin coenzyme such as FAD or FMN. Like all catalysts, they catalyze reverse as well as forward reactions, and in some cases this has physiological significance: for example, alcohol dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde in animals, but in yeast it catalyzes the production of ethanol from acetaldehyde.
Crassulacean acid metabolism, also known as CAM photosynthesis, is a carbon fixation pathway that evolved in some plants as an adaptation to arid conditions that allows a plant to photosynthesize during the day, but only exchange gases at night. In a plant using full CAM, the stomata in the leaves remain shut during the day to reduce evapotranspiration, but they open at night to collect carbon dioxide and allow it to diffuse into the mesophyll cells. The CO2 is stored as four-carbon malic acid in vacuoles at night, and then in the daytime, the malate is transported to chloroplasts where it is converted back to CO2, which is then used during photosynthesis. The pre-collected CO2 is concentrated around the enzyme RuBisCO, increasing photosynthetic efficiency. This mechanism of acid metabolism was first discovered in plants of the family Crassulaceae.
C4 carbon fixation or the Hatch–Slack pathway is one of three known photosynthetic processes of carbon fixation in plants. It owes the names to the 1960s discovery by Marshall Davidson Hatch and Charles Roger Slack.
Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) (EC 1.1.1.42) and (EC 1.1.1.41) is an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate, producing alpha-ketoglutarate (α-ketoglutarate) and CO2. This is a two-step process, which involves oxidation of isocitrate (a secondary alcohol) to oxalosuccinate (a ketone), followed by the decarboxylation of the carboxyl group beta to the ketone, forming alpha-ketoglutarate. In humans, IDH exists in three isoforms: IDH3 catalyzes the third step of the citric acid cycle while converting NAD+ to NADH in the mitochondria. The isoforms IDH1 and IDH2 catalyze the same reaction outside the context of the citric acid cycle and use NADP+ as a cofactor instead of NAD+. They localize to the cytosol as well as the mitochondrion and peroxisome.
Oxidative decarboxylation is a decarboxylation reaction caused by oxidation. Most are accompanied by α- Ketoglutarate α- Decarboxylation caused by dehydrogenation of hydroxyl carboxylic acids such as carbonyl carboxylic acid, malic acid, isocitric acid, etc.
In enzymology, a D-malate dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) (EC 1.1.1.83) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a homoisocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.87) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a malate dehydrogenase (NADP+) (EC 1.1.1.82) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a malate dehydrogenase (oxaloacetate-decarboxylating) (EC 1.1.1.38) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction below
Malate dehydrogenase (oxaloacetate-decarboxylating) (NADP+) (EC 1.1.1.40) or NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction in the presence of a bivalent metal ion:
In enzymology, an oxaloglycolate reductase (decarboxylating) (EC 1.1.1.92) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a sterol-4alpha-carboxylate 3-dehydrogenase (decarboxylating) (EC 1.1.1.170) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a 1,6-dihydroxycyclohexa-2,4-diene-1-carboxylate dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.1.25) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, an arogenate dehydrogenase [NAD(P)+] (EC 1.3.1.79) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a 4-hydroxybenzoate 1-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.13.64) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, an anthranilate 1,2-dioxygenase (deaminating, decarboxylating) (EC 1.14.12.1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a 2-oxoaldehyde dehydrogenase (NAD+) (EC 1.2.1.23) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a malonate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (acetylating) (EC 1.2.1.18) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
