AQA A Level Biology复习笔记1.6.1 The Structure of ATP

• All organisms require a constant supply of energy to maintain their cells and stay alive
• This energy is required:
  • In anabolic reactions – building larger molecules from smaller molecules
  • To move substances across the cell membrane (active transport) or to move substances within the cell
  • In animals, energy is required:
    • For muscle contraction – to coordinate movement at the whole-organism level
    • In the conduction of nerve impulses, as well as many other cellular processes

     

   

• In all known forms of life, ATP from respiration is used to transfer energy in all energy-requiring processes in cells
• This is why ATP is known as the universal energy currency
• Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleotide
  • The monomers of DNA and RNA are also nucleotide

   

ATP

• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the energy-carrying molecule that provides the energy to drive many processes inside living cells
• ATP is another type of nucleic acid and hence it is structurally very similar to the nucleotides that make up DNA and RNA
• It is a phosphorylated nucleotide
• Adenosine (a nucleoside) can be combined with one, two or three phosphate groups
  • One phosphate group = adenosine monophosphate (AMP)
  • Two phosphate groups = adenosine diphosphate (ADP)
  • Three phosphate groups = adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

   

The structure of AMP, ADP and ATP