The initial and a universal process, glycolysis was widely studied in yeasts, whose genetic sequence was the subject of our last lab. Although glycolysis only releases a small fraction of energy available from glucose, the energy is needed as fuel for aerobic energy-generating pathways. The Pasteur effect is the inhibition of glycolysis by oxygen. Other glycolytic controls are known and will be further studied in later chapters. Chapter 13 covered glycolysis.
Glycolysis is a central part of the metabolic processes of all cells.
It is the first part of the pathway to break down glucose and other sugars to produce ATP in aerobic organisms, and the only source of ATP in anaerobic organisms. There are ten steps in glycolysis, each of which is catalyzed by a different enzyme. There are various control mechanisms, including a feedback-controlled system, and oxygen inhibition. The breakdown and use of glycogen, which we studied earlier, in the chapter about carbohydrates, also involves glycolysis as a central pathway.