The different ways in which organisms use ATP

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The different ways in which organisms uses ATP

ATP is an immediate source of energy as it can be readily hydrolysed into ADP and Pi and releases energy in the process. It is very adapted for this role as it is easily reformed from ADP and Pi and only stores small amount of energy that is easily manageable, so that no energy is wasted. All living organisms require energy in order to remain alive; as a result ATP plays many important roles in processes that are essential to life.

ATPs are used in photosynthesis and respiration to help activate molecules and allowing enzyme catalysed reactions to occur more readily. For example, during glycolysis, a phosphate molecule is donated from ATP to a glucose molecule to form phsphorylated glucose. This makes the glucose molecule a lot more reactive; as a result, the reaction of splitting the glucose molecule into triose phosphate has a lower activation energy than before. Similarly, during the Calvin cycle in the light independent stage of photosynthesis, ATP produced from the previous light dependent stage is used to help convert a GP molecule into a TP molecule.

ATP is also very important in