| map00020 |
Citrate cycle (TCA cycle) |
The citrate cycle (TCA cycle, Krebs cycle) is an important aerobic pathway for the final steps of the oxidation of carbohydrates and fatty acids. The cycle starts with acetyl-CoA, the activated form of acetate, derived from glycolysis and pyruvate oxidation for carbohydrates and from beta oxidation of fatty acids. The two-carbon acetyl group in acetyl-CoA is transferred to the four-carbon compound of oxaloacetate to form the six-carbon compound of citrate. In a series of reactions two carbons in citrate are oxidized to CO2 and the reaction pathway supplies NADH for use in the oxidative phosphorylation and other metabolic processes. The pathway also supplies important precursor metabolites including 2-oxoglutarate. At the end of the cycle the remaining four-carbon part is transformed back to oxaloacetate. According to the genome sequence data, many organisms seem to lack genes for the full cycle [MD:M00009], but contain genes for specific segments [MD:M00010 M00011]. |
| map00010 |
Glycolysis / Gluconeogenesis |
Glycolysis is the process of converting glucose into pyruvate and generating small amounts of ATP (energy) and NADH (reducing power). It is a central pathway that produces important precursor metabolites: six-carbon compounds of glucose-6P and fructose-6P and three-carbon compounds of glycerone-P, glyceraldehyde-3P, glycerate-3P, phosphoenolpyruvate, and pyruvate [MD:M00001]. Acetyl-CoA, another important precursor metabolite, is produced by oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate [MD:M00307]. When the enzyme genes of this pathway are examined in completely sequenced genomes, the reaction steps of three-carbon compounds from glycerone-P to pyruvate form a conserved core module [MD:M00002], which is found in almost all organisms and which often corresponds to operon structures in bacterial genomes. Gluconeogenesis is a synthesis pathway of glucose from noncarbohydrate precursors. It is essentially a reversal of glycolysis with minor variations of alternative paths [MD:M00003]. |
