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Study Questions
1. Is it correct that the main function of aerobic respiration is the production of ATP? Explain your answer. What are the respective contributions of glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation to the cellular ATP pool?
2. Contrast the flow of oxygen and CO2 in photosynthesis and respiration.
3. Compare the electron transport chains in mitochondria and chloroplasts with respect to membrane gradients and energy conservation.
4. Describe the different steps whereby a molecule of sucrose is oxidized to CO2 in glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway and the citric acid cycle. In what steps is CO2 released, and in what steps is energy conserved?
5. What are the metabolic advantages and disadvantages of anaerobic fermentation?
6. Which enzyme is responsible for cyanide-resistance respiration in plants? What are the energetic consequences of cyanide-resistance respiration?
7. What is the general chemical structure of triacylglycerols? Where are triacylglycerols stored? What determines whether triacylglycerols are oils or fats?
8. How do mitochondria exchange metabolites with the rest of the cell? In which cases does the exchange cost energy, and where is this energy derived from?
9. What is cytoplasmic male sterility? Why is it of economic importance?
10. Justify the following statement: The plant citric acid cycle function is more flexible than the mammalian citric acid cycle.
11. In a hypothetical case in which there is no PEP carboxylase activity in a cell, what would happen to the citric acid cycle function if 2-oxoglutarate is taken out of the cycle for biosynthetic purposes?
12. Why is the malic enzyme necessary for mitochondrial oxidation of stored malate? Why can′t malate enter the citric acid cycle via the malate dehydrogenase reaction?
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