Metabolosomes
| Organelle Details | |
|---|---|
| Metabolosomes | [[File:|center|100px]] |
| [[File:|300px]] | |
| Base Cost (MP) | 45 |
| Requires Nucleus | No |
| Processes | Protein Respiration |
| Enzymes | None |
| Size (Hexes) | 1 |
| Osmoregulation Cost | 1 |
| Storage | 0.5 |
| Unique | No |
| Upgrades | None |
| Internal Name | metabolosome |
Metabolosmoes perform Protein Respiration, a form of Aerobic Respiration inferior to that of Mitochondria. It is the conversion of Glucose into ATP with the use of Oxygen.
Requirements
No requirements
Processes
Protein Respiration: Glucose → ATP @ Oxygen
Protein Respiration is a method of energy production performed by Metabolosomes. An input of glucose is needed for this to take place, and the rate of the process scales with the amount of environmental Oxygen.
Modifications
No modifications.
Effects
No effects.
Upgrades
No upgrades.
Strategy
TBA
Scientific Background
Unlike eukaryotes, prokaryotes do not have membrane-bound organelles. In other words, their organelles do not have membranes. Instead, prokaryotes like bacteria construct compartments out of proteins. A metabolosome is an example of such a compartment, officially referred to as a bacterial microcompartment (BMC). BMCs are composed of a polyhedral protein shell around 100-200 nm large that looks similar to a virus capsid. The proteins that make up the shell typically have (semipermeable) pores that allow different compounds (substrates and products) in and out of the organelle. They concentrate enzymes and proteins involved in specific metabolic processes in one spot, ensuring their success. The protein shell also acts as a physical barrier, allowing BMCs to conduct metabolic reactions that create toxic or unstable intermediate compounds.
Metabolosomes are a catabolic type of BMC, and are involved in the degradation of different carbon sources such as glycerol and amino acids. There is no clear evidence that the process of breaking down glucose takes place in metabolosomes, however it is not unreasonable to assume that it could do so.
Aerobic cellular respiration (glucose -> ATP)
The actual process of breaking down glucose for energy takes place in several steps in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The only difference is where some of the enzymes are located and organized. Below is a summary of the various reactions with the full names of the molecules and the chemical formulas/abbreviations.
Glycolysis:
Glycolysis takes place in several steps, catalyzed by 10 different enzymes with 11 intermediate compounds. The end result is one glucose produces two pyruvate molecules, two ATP molecules and two NADH molecules (which are later converted to 4-5 ATP molecules).
The net reaction looks like this:
Glucose + 2 Adenosine DiPhosphate + 2 Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide + 2 inorganic Phosphate → 2 pyruvate + 2 Adenosin TriPhosphate + 2 Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Hydrated + 2 water
If you'd like to learn more about glycolysis, visit https://www.tuscany-diet.net/2018/02/06/glycolysis/.
Linker reaction:
2 Pyruvate + 2 Coenzyme A + 2 Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide + 2 inorganic Phosphate → 2 pyruvate + 2 Adenosin TriPhosphate + 2 Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Hydrated + 2 water