cells, cellular organelles, glycolysis, cellular respiration

Question

Using your knowledge of cells, cellular organelles, glycolysis, and cellular respiration, address the follow questions: During the process of cellular respiration, ATP is generated. Which process (glycolysis, Kreb’s cycle, electron transport chain) provides the cell which the most ATP? Red blood cells use ATP so hemoglobin can efficiently carry oxygen and as fuel for ion pumps. Do red blood cells have mitochondria? How do they generate the ATP needed to function?

Answer 1

Well if you follow the energy production model you would find that glycolysis produces the least net ATP, the Krebs cycle produces only two ATP per pyruvate(so four per glucose), however the electron transport produces the most due to the contribution of electron carriers (NADH and FADH2) from the Krebs cycle.

 

Our red blood cells lose the functions that our normal mammalian cells typically have. That being most prominently the nucleus as well as mitochondria. Since mitochondria are necessary for aerobic respiration, as the Krebs cycle and ETC both take place in the mitochondria, blood cells must rely solely on anaerobic respiration. This is possible due to the necessary enzymes being available, as well as the fact that glycolysis occurs in the intracellular membrane.