55 ATP: Adenosine Triphosphate
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:
- Explain ATP’s role as the cellular energy currency
- Describe how energy releases through ATP hydrolysis
Even exergonic, energy-releasing reactions require a small amount of activation energy in order to proceed. However, consider endergonic reactions, which require much more energy input, because their products have more free energy than their reactants. Within the cell, from where does energy to power such reactions come? The answer lies with an energy-supplying molecule scientists call adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. This is a small, relatively simple molecule (Figure 6.13), but within some of its bonds, it contains the potential for a quick burst of energy that can be harnessed to perform cellular work. Think of this molecule as the cells’ primary energy currency in much the same way that money is the currency that people exchange for things they need. ATP powers the majority of energy-requiring cellular reactions.
As its name suggests, adenosine triphosphate is comprised of adenosine bound to three phosphate groups (Figure 6.13). Adenosine is a nucleoside consisting of the nitrogenous base adenine and a five-carbon sugar, ribose. The three phosphate groups, in order of closest to furthest from the ribose sugar, are alpha, beta, and gamma. Together, these chemical groups constitute an energy powerhouse. However, not all bonds within this molecule exist in a particularly high-energy state. Both bonds that link the phosphates are equally high-energy bonds (phosphoanhydride bonds) that, when broken, release sufficient energy to power a variety of cellular reactions and processes. These high-energy bonds are the bonds between the second and third (or beta and gamma) phosphate groups and between the first and second phosphate groups. These bonds are “high-energy” because the products of such bond breaking—adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and one inorganic phosphate group (Pi)—have considerably lower free energy than the reactants: ATP and a water molecule. Because this reaction takes place using a water molecule, it is a hydrolysis reaction. In other words, ATP hydrolyzes into ADP in the following reaction:
ATP+H2O→ADP+Pi+free energy
Like most chemical reactions, ATP to ADP hydrolysis is reversible. The reverse reaction regenerates ATP from ADP + Pi. Cells rely on ATP regeneration just as people rely on regenerating spent money through some sort of income. Since ATP hydrolysis releases energy, ATP regeneration must require an input of free energy. This equation expresses ATP formation:
ADP+Pi+free energy→ATP+H2O
Two prominent questions remain with regard to using ATP as an energy source. Exactly how much free energy releases with ATP hydrolysis, and how does that free energy do cellular work? The calculated ∆G for the hydrolysis of one ATP mole into ADP and Pi is −7.3 kcal/mole (−30.5 kJ/mol). Since this calculation is true under stand