Question

EMP can produce a total of
A) $8$ ATP
B) $6$ ATP
C) $38$ ATP
D) $24$ ATP

Answer 1

Hint: EMP, which is the abbreviated form of Embden, Meyerhof and Parnas is the other name of glycolysis. It is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose into pyruvic acid. The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules which are adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH).

Complete answer:
Glycolysis is a sequence of ten reactions that are catalyzed by six enzymes and is the first step in cellular respiration. This metabolic pathway takes place in the cytosol of the cell cytoplasm and does not require oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, the cells take in small amounts of ATP through the process of fermentation.

In glycolysis, there is a net production of two ATP and also two NADH molecules are produced when two \[glyceraldehyde{\text{ }}3 - phosphate\] are oxidized to \[1,{\text{ }}3 - bisphosphoglycerate\]. Phosphate is transferred from \[1,{\text{ }}3 - bisphosphoglycerate\] to ADP to form ATP with the help of the enzyme phosphoglycerokinase. These two NADH in turn produce six ATP molecules in the respiratory chain. Hence, a total of $8$ ATP molecules can be produced by the EMP pathway.

Therefore, the correct option is ‘A’.

Note: The glycolysis pathway can be separated into two phases, which are the Preparatory or the Investment Phase where ATP is consumed and the Pay Off Phase in which ATP is produced. The process occurs in the cytoplasm of plant and animal cells. This pathway was discovered by three German biochemists- Gustav Embden, Otto Meyerhof, and Jakub Karol Parnas in the early nineteenth century and is hence known as the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas pathway.