. T HE R ESPIRATORY B ALANCE S HEET It is possible to make calculations of the net gain of ATP for every glucose molecule oxidised; but in reality this can remain only a theoretical exercise. These calculations can be made only on certain assumptions that: There is a sequential, orderly pathway functioning, with one substrate forming the next and with glycolysis, TCA cycle and ETS pathway following one after another. The NADH synthesised in glycolysis is transferred into the mitochondria and undergoes oxidative phosphorylation.
None of the intermediates in the pathway are utilised to synthesise any other compound. Only glucose is being respired – no other alternative substrates are entering in the pathway at any of the intermediary stages. But this kind of assumptions are not really valid in a living system; all pathways work simultaneously and do not take place one after another; substrates enter the pathways and are withdrawn from it as and when necessary; ATP is utilised as and when needed; enzymatic rates are controlled by multiple means. Yet, it is useful to do this exercise to appreciate the beauty and efficiency of the living system in extraction and storing energy.
Hence, there can be a net gain of ATP molecules during aerobic respiration of one molecule of glucose. Figure . Diagramatic presentation of ATP synthesis in mitochondria Now let us compare fermentation and aerobic respiration: