BIOCHEMISTRY OF YEAST FERMENTATION

The synthesis of living material is endergonic, requiring the consumption of energy. Most animals, bacteria, fungi including yeast are chemoorganotrophs, they draw their energy from the oxidation of organic nutrients. Chlorophyllous plants (phototrophs) collect solar energy and store this energy in the form of reduced organic compounds. In a growing organism, energy produced by degradation reactions (catabolism) is transferred to a chain of synthesis reactions (anabolism). The first law of thermodynamics (E = q + w) tells us that only part of this energy is converted to useful work (the rest is dissipated as heat). The free energy that is converted to work can be used for transport, movement or synthesis. In most cases the free energy transporter is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Hydrolysis of ATP to ADP releases 7.3 kcal.mol-1 of energy (using the biochemical standard state with a pH of 7 instead of 1.0). Yeasts obtain their ATP from the oxidation of sugars.

Sugar Degradation pathways

There are three pathways yeast (usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae) can obtain energy through the oxidation of glucose and Figure 1 outlines these pathways: a) Alcoholic fermentation under anaerobic conditions (no oxygen). The pyruvate resulting from glycolysis is decarboxylated to acetaldehyde (ethanal) which is reduced to ethanol. This pathway yields only two more molecules of ATP per molecule of glucose over the two resulting from glycolysis and of course is the major pathway in wine-making. b) Glyceropyruvic fermentation During wine-making 8% of glucose follows this pathway and it is important at the beginning of the alcoholic fermentation of grape must when the concentration of alcohol dehydrogenase (required to convert ethanal to ethanol) is low. c) Respiration under aerobic conditions (presence of oxygen). Glycolysis of glucose yields pyruvate and two molecules of ATP per molecule of glucose. Pyruvate is then oxidized to carbon dioxide and water via the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. This pathway yields a further 36-38 molecules of ATP per molecule of glucose and obviously the yeast would prefer this route. However the amount of oxygen is carefully controlled during the wine-making process and this pathway is forbidden! All three pathways start with the initial stage of glycolysis, the conversion of glucose into fructose-1,6-bisphosphate.

Glycolysis
This series of reactions transforms glucose into pyruvate with the formation of 2 molecules of ATP. Hexose (glucose) is transported across the plasmic membrane into the cytosol of the cell moving with the concentration gradient (concentrated outer medium to dilute inner medium). The first stage of glycolysis converts glucose into fructose-1,6-bisphosphate and requires two molecules of ATP, see Figure 2. Glycolysis is covered in Organic Chemistry, Bruice (3rd Edition) page 995.

Glycolysis: Glucose to Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate

O HOH2C HO HO OH Glucose H O OH O ATP ADP P O HO HO OH H O OH O

hexokinase

Glucose-6-phosphate

phosphoglucoisomerase O O P O O O OH OH O OH Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate O P O O ADP ATP O O P O phosphofructokinase-1 CH2OH OH Fructose-6-phosphate O O OH OH

Figure 2 The first and third steps involve adding phosphates to carbons 1 & 6 which are endogonic and require energy (ATP). The second step is the isomerization of glucose into fructose which proceeds by enol formation:
H H HO H H O OH H OH OH CH2OH D-glucose keto-enol tautomerism H HO H H OH OH H OH OH CH2OH keto-enol tautomerism HO H H CH2OH O H OH OH CH2OH D-fructose

Glycolysis: Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate to Pyruvate

O O P O O O OH OH O OH Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate O P O O

aldolase

HO O

2 OPO3 triose-phosphate isomerase H

O 2 OPO3 OH

Dihydroxyacetone phosphate

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate NAD glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase NADH

O O OH 3-phosphoglycerate OPO3 2 ATP ADP 2 O PO 3 phosphoglycerate kinase

O 2 OPO3 OH 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate

phosphoglycerate mutase

O O 2 OPO3 2-phosphoglycerate OH

H2O O

enolase

2 OPO3 phosphoenolpyruvate

ADP pyruvate kinase ATP O O O pyruvate

Figure 3

The second stage of glycolysis forms pyruvate, see Figure 3. First fructose-1,6-bisphosphate is cleaved to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. This is a retroaldol condensation (or a reverse aldol condensation) and consequently the enzyme is called aldolase. The mechanism for this reaction is covered in Organic Chemistry, Bruice (3rd Edition) page 984. Remembering that an aldol is the reaction of an enolate (anion of an aldehyde or ketone) with an aldehyde or ketone:
2 CH2OPO3 O HO O 2 OPO3 H OH Dihydroxyacetone phosphate Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate O 2 OPO3 HO H H H OH OH 2 CH2OPO3

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate

The enzymic retroaldol activates the carbonyl of fructose by forming its imine outlined below:
2 CH2OPO3 O HO H H H OH OH 2 CH2OPO3 S H2N enzyme imine formation with -amino group of lysine of triose phosphate isomerase HO H H 2 CH2OPO3 H N H O OH 2 CH2OPO3 H S enzyme

2 CH2OPO3 O HO H HO

2 CH2OPO3 H N H H imine enzyme S HO

2 CH2OPO3 H N H H enamine O H OH 2 OPO3 S enzyme H H O OH 2 CH2OPO3 Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

H Dihydroxyacetone phosphate

HO O

2 OPO3

As with the glucose-fructose conversion, dihydroxyacetone phosphate is readily converted via enol formation to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate:
HO O Dihydroxyacetone phosphate 2 OPO3 HO OH 2 OPO3 O H OH Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate 2 OPO3

The enzyme is triose phosphate isomerase (a triose is a 3 carbon suger). The equilibrium is driven to the RHS as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate is rapidly removed by subsequent reaction. In other words a molecule of glucose yields two molecules of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. The third phase of glycolysis comprises two steps which recover part of the energy from glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. Initially the aldehyde is oxidized to a carboxylic acid (G=-43 kJ.mol-1) and this energy is trapped in a phosphate bond of the mixed anhydride of the carboxylic acid and phosphoric acid (G= +49 kJ.mol-1).

O H OH Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate 2 OPO3

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase O NAD NADH

O 2 OPO3 OH 2 HPO4

O O

O P O

O OPO3 OH

1,3-bisphosphoglycerate

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is the oxidizing agent. NAD is covered in Organic Chemistry, Bruice (3rd Edition) page 996.
NH2 O O P O O OH OH O NH2 O P O O O OH OH N NAD + H + 2e NADH N R N N N H O NH2 H N R H H O NH2 N

nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, NAD

Next, this energy is given up to an ATP by transfer of the phosphoryl group of the acyl phosphate.
O 2 O PO 3 OH 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate 2 OPO3 ADP ATP O phosphoglycerate kinase OH 3-phosphoglycerate O 2 OPO3

The last phase of glycolysis transforms 3-phosphoglycerate into pyruvate. The remaining phosphate group is transferred from carbon-3 to carbon-2.
O O OH 3-phosphoglycerate OPO32 phosphoglycerate mutase O O 2 OH OPO3 2-phosphoglycerate

The 2-phosphoglycerate loses a molecule of water, yielding the enol, phosphoenolpyruvate. Phosphoenolpyruvate then transfers its phosphate group to ADP, producing a second ATP and after a keto-enol isomerism, pyruvate.
O O OPO3 2 OH enolase H2O O 2 OPO3 phosphoenolpyruvate pyruvate kinase O ADP ATP O OH O O O pyruvate O

2-phosphoglycerate

Glycolysis produces four ATP molecules; cleavage of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate produces two molecules of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and oxidation of each glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to pyruvate produces two molecules of ATP. Two molecules of ATP are immediately used to activate a new molecule of glucose and the net gain of glycolysis is therefore two ATP molecules per molecule of glucose metabolized.

a) Alcoholic Fermentation
Oxidation is the loss of electrons and these electrons must be passed on to an electron acceptor or oxidizing agent. This oxidizing agent in fermentation is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide NAD+ and at some stage in the process the reduced oxidizing agent, NADH, must pass the electrons on and be reoxidized. The terminal electron acceptor is acetaldehyde which is reduced to ethanol while the NADH is oxidized back to NAD+ and able to continue the glycolysis cycle by oxidizing another glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. See figure 4. In humans the terminal electron acceptor is pyruvate which is reduced to lactate in muscles (stiffness).
O O O pyruvate NADH NAD O lactate dehydrogenase OH lactate O

In alcoholic fermentation, pyruvate is first decarboxylated to acetaldehyde (ethanal) using pyruvate decarboxylase. The mechanism for this reaction is covered in Organic Chemistry, Bruice (3rd Edition) page 1005.
O O O pyruvate H O ethanal

This enzyme requires Mg2+ and the cofactor, thiamine pyrophosphate, TPP. Thiamine or vitamin B1 has the structure and TPP is obvious:
NH2 N N thiamine N S OH N N NH2 N S O O P O O O P O O

thiamine pyrophosphate

The aromatic benzene ring with two nitrogens is called a pyrimidine and the five membered ring containing a sulfur and a nitrogen is called a thiazole, is this ring aromatic? The hydrogen on the carbon between the nitrogen and sulfur is acidic, why?

The Alcoholic Fermentation Pathway

O O P O O O OH OH O OH Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate O P O O

aldolase

O HO O OH ethanol Dihydroxyacetone phosphate OPO3 triose-phosphate isomerase H OPO3

OH Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

NAD

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase

NADH O alcohol dehydrogenase O3PO OH 1,3-bisphosphogrycerate ADP O ethanal or acetaldehyde phosphoglycerate kinase ATP O O CO2 OH 3-phosphoglycerate pyruvate decarboxylase phosphoglycerate mutase OPO3 OPO3

O O O pyruvate

ATP

ADP O

H2O O OPO3 enolase

O OH OPO3 2-phosphoglycerate

pyruvate kinase

phosphoenolpyruvate

FIGURE 4

First pyruvate condenses with thiamine pyrophosphate to form an addition compound, which readily decarboxylates to form active acetaldehyde or TPP-C2. Protonation then gives hydroxyethyl thiamine pyrophosphate which breaks down to give ethanal and thiamine pyrophosphate. The mechanism for the decarboxylation follows:
R1 N S O H pyruvate R2 thiamine pyrophosphate O HO S R2 O R1 N CO2 H HO S R2 active acetaldehyde, TPP-C2 R1 N

O O

R1 H O S R2 ethanal thiamine pyrophosphate B N H

H O S

R1 N

R2

hydroxyethyl thiamine pyrophosphate

The second step reduces ethanal into ethanol by NADH.

H O ethanal alcohol HO dehydrogenase ethanol

From an energy viewpoint, glycolysis followed by alcoholic fermentation supplies the yeast with two molecules of ATP per molecule of glucose.

b) Glyceropyruvic Fermentation
At the beginning of alcoholic fermentation of grape must, the pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase are weakly expressed. The concentration of acetaldehyde is low and NADH looks for another terminal acceptor so that it can be reoxidized to react with another molecule of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. In glyceropyruvic fermentation, dihydroxyacetone phosphate picks up the electrons and gets reduced to glycerol-3phosphate, which is dephosphorylated into glycerol. See Figure 5. In this fermentation only two molecules of ATP are produced for every molecule of glucose oxidized, as only one molecule of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate forms for each molecule of glucose. Since two molecules of ATP are required to activate the glucose in the first steps of glycolysis in yielding fructose-1,6bisphosphate, the net gain in ATP in glyceropyruvic fermentation is zero and there is no biologically assimilable energy for yeasts. Wines contain about 8g glycerol per 100g ethanol. During grape must fermentation, about 8% of the sugar molecules undergo glyceropyruvic fermentation and 92% undergo alcoholic fermentation. The fermentation of the first 100g of glucose forms the majority of the glycerol, after which glycerol production slows, but never stops. Glyceropyruvic fermentation is therefore more than an inductive fermentation which generates NAD+ when ethanal is not yet present. Alcoholic and glyceropyruvic fermentations overlap slightly throughout fermentation. Glycerol has a sugary flavor similar to glucose; however in wine the sweetness of glycerol is practically imperceptible. The secondary products decrease wine quality and consequently the wine-maker would wish to limit the extent of the glyceropyruvic fermentation. Pyruvic acid is derived from glycolysis and in glyceropyruvic fermentation it does not form ethanal and ethanol (the NADH is used to reduce dihydroxyacetone) and thus goes on to form secondary products, such as succinic acid, diacetyl etc.

Secondary Products
Succinic Acid Aerobic respiration is carried out in the mitochondria and during fermentation (alcoholic and glyceropyruvic) they are not functional. However the enzymes of the citric acid cycle are present in the cytoplasm. In these anaerobic conditions, the citric acid cycle cannot be completed since the succinodehydrogenase activity requires the presence of FAD, a strictly respiratory coenzyme. The chain of reactions is therefore interrupted at succinate, which accumulates (0.5-1.5 g/L). The NADH generated by this portion of the citric acid cycle (oxaloacetate to succinate) is reoxidized by the formation of glycerol from dihydroxyacetone. Acetic Acid Acetic acid is the principle volatile acid in wine. It is produced during bacterial spoilage but is always formed by yeasts during fermentation. Beyond a certain limit, which varies depending on the wine, acetic acid has a detrimental organoleptic effect on wine quality. In healthy grape must with a moderate sugar concentration (less than 220 g/L, Sacch. cerevisiae produces relatively small quantities (100-300 mg/L). The biochemical pathway for the formation of acetic acid in wine yeasts has not been clearly identified. The hydrolysis of acetyl CoA will produce acetic acid as will aldehyde dehydrogenase by the oxidation of ethanal. Figure 6 shows the pathways used by yeast to form acetic acid.

The Glyceropyruvic Fermentation Pathway

O O P O O O OH OH O OH Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate O P O O

aldolase

O HO O Dihydroxyacetone phosphate OPO3 H OPO3

OH Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

NAD

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase

NADH O HO OH Glycerol-3-phosphate OPO3 O3PO OH 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate ADP phosphoglycerate kinase ATP HO OH Glycerol Secondary products (-ketoglutaric acid, succinic acid, butanediol, diacetyl, acetoin, etc) O OH 3-phosphoglycerate OH O OPO3 OPO3

phosphoglycerate mutase

O O O pyruvate

ATP

ADP O

H2O O OPO3 enolase

O OH OPO3 2-phosphoglycerate

pyruvate kinase

phosphoenolpyruvate

FIGURE 5

Pathways for the Formation of Acetic Acid in Yeasts

NAD NADH

Pyruvate
HSCoA CO2 NADP NADPH CO2

Acetyl CoA
H2O HSCoA HSCoA

Lipid synthesis

Ethanal
NAD

Acetate

NADH

Ethanol

FIGURE 6 The practical wine-making conditions that lead Sacch. cerevisiae to produce abnormally high quantities of acetic acid are fairly well known. The higher the sugar concentration in the grape must, the more acetic acid (and glycerol) the yeast produces during fermentation. Sweet wines (including ice wine) made from musts with high sugar concentrations have elevated acetic acid levels. Lactic Acid Lactic acid is another secondary product of fermentation. It is derived from pyruvic acid, directly reduced by yeast lacticodehydrogenase. In alcoholic fermentation, the yeast synthesizes predominately D(-) lacticodehydrogenase and form 200-300 mg/L of D(-) lactic acid. Wines that have undergone malolactic fermentation can contain several grams per litre exclusively of L(+) lactic acid. Acetoin, Diacetyl and 2,3-Butanediol Yeasts also make use of pyruvic acid to produce acetoin (2-hydroxybutan-2-one), diacetyl (butan-2,3-dione) and 2,3butanediol (Figure 7).

Acetoin, Diacetyl and 2,3-Butanediol Formation by Yeasts in Anaerobiosis

TPP Pyruvate CO2 CO2 TPP-C2 Pyruvate -Acetolactate

NAD NADH

CO2

OH

NAD

NADH

OH

O Diacetyl

NADH

NAD

O Acetoin

OH 2,3-Butanediol

FIGURE 7

Pyruvate condenses with thiamine to form active acetaldehyde, TPP-C2 (see decarboxylation of pyruvate under alcoholic fermentation) which condenses with a second molecule of pyruvate, and kicks off the thiamine to form -acetolactate. See the following mechanism.
O O O H pyruvate S R2 thiamine pyrophosphate TPP R1 N O HO S R2 O R1 N CO2 HO S R2 active acetaldehyde or TPP-C2 R1 N

O O O H pyruvate TPP-C2 HO S

R1 N O

H O R1 N OH S R2 -acetolactate B O OH S O O

R1 N

R2

R2 TPP

-Acetolactate can either undergo oxidative decarboxylation to form diacetyl or a nonoxidative decarboxylation to form acetoin. Acetoin can also form by reduction of diacetyl. The reversible reduction of acetoin forms 2,3-butanediol. Yeasts produce diacetyl from the start of alcoholic fermentation. Reduction to acetoin and 2,3-butanediol takes place in the days that follow the end of the fermentation., when wines are conserved on yeast biomass. Acetoin and particularly diacetyl are strong smelling compounds which evoke a buttery aroma. The concentrations of these compounds from alcoholic fermentation are a few milligrams per litre, which is below their thresholds. Degradation of Malic acid Saccharomyces cerevisiae degrades malic acid to an extent of about 10-15% during alcoholic fermentation. The oxidative decarboxylation is performed by malic enzyme. The resulting pyruvate is decarboxylated to ethanal which is reduced to ethanol. Grape must contains approximately 5 g/L of malic acid.
CO2 HOOC OH Malate COOH Malic enzyme NAD NADH O Pyruvate COOH Pyruvate decarboxylase CO2 O Ethanal H Alchol dehydrogenase NADH NAD Ethanol OH

c) Respiration
When yeast has plenty of oxygen (aerobic conditions) it follows the respiratory pathway. Respiration takes place in the mitochondria, while alcoholic fermentation takes place in the cytosol of the cell. Pyruvate (originating from glycolysis in the cytosol) forms acetyl-CoA via an oxidative decarboxylation in the presence of coenzyme A (CoA) and NAD+. Pyruvate dehydrogenase in the interior of the mitochondria, catalyzes this reaction using the cofactors, thiamine pyrophosphate, TPP, lipoamide, flavin-adenine dinucleotide, FAD and NAD+. The pyruvate dehydrogenase system is a group of three enzymes responsible for the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl CoA. The first enzyme in the system catalyzes the condensation of thiamine pyrophosphate, TPP, with pyruvate to form an addition compound, which readily decarboxylates to form active acetaldehyde or TPP-C2.
O O O H pyruvate S R2 thiamine pyrophosphate R1 N O HO S R2 O R1 N CO2 HO S R2 active acetaldehyde, TPP-C2 R1 N HO S R2 R1 N

The second enzyme of the system (E2) requires lipoate, a coenzyme that becomes attached to its enzyme by forming an amide with the amino group of lysine. The disulfide bond of lipoate is cleaved when it undergoes nucleophilic attack by TPP-C2. Then TPP is eliminated from the tetrahedral intermediate. Coenzyme A reacts with the thioester in a transesterification reaction substituting CoA for dihydrolipoate. At this point acetyl CoA is formed. The third enzyme oxidizes dihydrolipoate to lipoate with FAD. NAD+ then oxidizes the enzyme bound FADH2 back to FAD.
O B HO S S R2 active acetaldehyde, TPP-C2 lipoate N R1 O R2 S NH(CH2)4E2 S N H B H O S HS R1 NH(CH2)4E2

O O O SCoA SH SH NH(CH2)4E2 CoASH O S HS S E3 R2 N R1 NH(CH2)4E2

FAD

O NH(CH2)4E2 S S FADH2 E3

NAD

NADH FAD E3

The activated acetyl unit, acetyl CoA is then completely oxidized into carbon dioxide by the Citric Acid Cycle, also known as the Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle (TCA) or Krebs Cycle. This cycle is the final common pathway for fuel molecules amino acids, fatty acids and carbohydrates. Most fuel molecules enter the cycle as acetyl CoA. See Figure 8. The citric acid cycle is covered in Organic Chemistry, Bruice (3rd Edition) page 994.

Step 1 of the TCA cycle involves two reactions: an aldol condensation between acetyl CoA and oxaloacetate to give citryl_SCoA, and the hydrolysis of citryl-SCoA to yield citrate. The hydrolysis of citryl-SCoA provides the thermodynamic driving force and makes this step irreversible from a practical standpoint (G = 32 kJ/mol). Since both the aldol condensation and the hydrolysis are catalyzed by citrate synthase, they are treated as a single step.
OH O2C O CO2 Oxaloacetate enol form of acetyl-SCoA SCoA citrate synthase O2C OH O CO2 Citryl-SoA H2O SCoA citrate synthase O2C OH O CO2 O CO2 CO2 OH CO2 Citrate

Step 2 is also a two phase process; dehydration followed by rehydration. Isocitrate is the final product and aconitase is the enzyme for this reversible reaction (G' = +6 kJ/mol).
CO2 CO2 OH CO2 Citrate CO2 aconitase CO2 cis-Aconitate aconitase CO2 HO CO2 Isocitrate H2O CO2 H2O CO2

Step 3 consists of the oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate to yield -ketoglutarate and CO2. NAD+ is the oxidizing agent and oxalosuccinate is an intermediate in this irreversible reaction (G' = 21 kJ/mol). Two of the six CO2 and two of the NADH produced by the total oxidation of glucose are generated by this step. Each of the NADHs can be used to synthesize approximately 2.5 ATP.
CO2 NAD CO2 HO CO2 Isocitrate NADH B H O CO2 Oxalosuccinate CO2 O O CO2 isocitrate dehydrogenase CO2

isocitrate dehydrogenase

O CO2 -ketoglutarate

Step 4 is another reversible oxidative decarboxylation (G' = 34 kJ/mol) reaction. NAD+ and CoASH react with ketoglutarate to yield succinyl-SCoA, CO2 and NADH. This step is catalyzed by the -ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, which is very similar to the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and requires TPP, FAD, lipoic acid and Mg2+.

CO2 CoASH O CO2 -ketoglutarate

NAD

NADH

CO2

ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex TPP, FAD, lipoic acid

O SCoA succinyl-SCoA

CO2

In step 5, the cleavage of the thioester link in succinyl-CoA drives the phosphorylation of guanosine diphosphate (GDP), a reversible process (G' = 3 kJ/mol).
CO2 GDP GTP CO2

O SCoA succinyl-SCoA

succinyl-SCoA synthetase

O2C succinate

Step 6 is a reversible, stereospecific oxidation reaction (G' = 0 kJ/mol) catalyzed by the succinate dehydrogenase complex.
CO2 FAD FADH2 CO2

O2C succinate

succinate dehydrogenase complex

O2C fumarate

Step 7 is the reversible, stereospecific hydration of fumerate to give L-malate, catalyzed by fumerase (G' = 4 kJ/mol).
CO2 H2O CO2 OH O2C L-malate

O2C fumarate

fumerase

Step 8 is the irreversible oxidation of L-malate by NAD+ to regenerate oxaloacetate so that the cycle can start again. The reaction is catalysed by malate dehydrogenase (G' = +30 kJ/mol).
CO2 OH O2C L-malate NAD NADH CO2 O O2C oxaloacetate

malate dehydrogenase

The 4-carbon oxaloacetate condenses with the 2-carbon acetyl CoA to form 6-carbon citrate. An isomer of citrate is then oxidatively decarboxylated. The resulting 5-carbon -ketoglutarate is oxidatively decarboxylated to yield 4-carbon succinate and oxaloacetate is regenerated via fumerate and malate. Two carbons enter the cycle as an acetyl unit and two carbons leave the cycle as carbon dioxide. The oxidation state of the two carbons of acetyl-CoA is zero, and that of two molecules of carbon dioxide is +8 (CO2 is +4) and so eight electrons are lost in these oxidations. These electrons are transferred as pairs to 3 NAD+ molecules and one FAD molecule. These electron carriers yield 11 molecules of ATP when they are oxidized by O2 in the electron transport chain (oxidative phosphorylation). In addition one high energy phosphate bond is formed in each round of the citric acid cycle.

The respiration of a glucose molecule produces 36-38 molecules of ATP. Two originating from glycolysis, 28 from the oxidative phosphorylation of NADH and FADH2 generated by the Krebs cycle and two from substrate level phosphorylation during the formation of succinate. The respiration of the same amount of sugar produces 18 to 19 times more biologically usable energy (ATP) available to yeasts than fermentation.

The Citric Acid Cycle

oxidative decarboxylation pyruvate dehydrogenase CO2 O pyruvate NAD NADH SCoA O acetyl CoA

HSCoA

CO2

O2C malate dehydrogenase NAD CO2 Oxaloacetate O2 C OH CO2 Malate H2O fumerase NADH O

H2O HSCoA
citra te sy ntha se

CO2 CO2 OH CO2 Citrate

ac on ita se

H2O

CO2 CO2 CO2

CO2

cis-Aconitate H2O

O2C Fumerate FADH2

succinate dehydrogenase

Respiratory chain and ATP production CO2 CO2 HO CO2 Isocitrate

FAD

CO2

O2C Succinate GTP HSCoA

ATP ADP CO2 NADH O SCoA Succinyl CoA HSCoA NAD a-ke to dehy glutarat e d com rogenas plex e O CO2 -ketoglutarate CO2 CO2 CO2 O CO2 Oxalosuccinate CO2 NADH NAD
is de ocitr hy at dr e og en as e

GDP

oA -C yl i n se cc eta su nth sy

CO2

FIGURE 8