Starting out from Citrate: a poem about the Krebs cycle.

STARTING OUT FROM CITRATE

First, a rearrangement.
Then, Boom! Boom! Two explosions, each exhaling; each reduces NAD+.
In the second, CoA enters.

CoA is displaced by water; GTP is made.

Fumarate is made by reducing FAD.

Fumarate is thirsty, has a drink, and turns to Malate.

A final oxidation, NAD+ again reduced: Oxaloacetate!

Which then combines with acetate (CoA once again displaced by water):
Starting out from Citrate once again.

Errata

Oops: here are TWO mistakes that I found in earlier postings.

1. On Fermentation (10/25):
I wrote "… pyruvate oxidizes NAD+ to NADH, and is converted (reduced) to lactate ..."
In fact, pyruvate oxidizes NADH to NAD+.

2. In the Krebs cycle cartoon (10/28), ATP and ADP should respectively read GTP and GDP.

I've fixed these now, but I wanted to make sure nobody was misled.
cheers,
Morgan G.

Photosynthesis: Wow.

When I first started reading about photosynthesis, I was frightened, and felt sorry for myself, and for you too. But after cartooning up a comprehensive diagram, I feel much better. Photosynthesis is not so bad after all!

My cartoon diagram is a remodeled version of the textbook's Figure 10.12,  incorporating elements  of Figures 10.14 (cyclic e- flow from PSI) and 10.16 (spatial organization and proton pumping). Click to enlarge...

It might look messy to you, but for me it's easier to read than the textbook figures - maybe because I made it!

I would be interested to know: is there anyone who has tried this tactic of re-drawing textbook diagrams and found it NOT so helpful? It's humongously helpful to me; if you haven't tried it, I highly recommend you do.
Use a pencil, and keep it sharp; get a big eraser.

Meanwhile, you might enjoy printing out the above cartoon and adding colors to organize some of the information.
cheers,
Morgan G.