metabolic pathway
Noun
Meaning
metabolic pathway (plural metabolic pathways)
(physiology) A series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell.
Synonyms
Examples
In animals including humans, serotonin is synthesized from the amino acid L - tryptophan by a short metabolic pathway consisting of two enzymes : tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) and aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (DDC).
For example, the end product(s) of a metabolic pathway are often inhibitors for one of the first enzymes of the pathway (usually the first irreversible step, called committed step), thus regulating the amount of end product made by the pathways.
The portion in blue, on the left, is the acetyl group ; the portion in black is coenzyme A The citric acid cycle is a key metabolic pathway that unifies carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism.
Intervening at many different steps in the lengthy chemical process known as a metabolic pathway, means small increases in the production of isobutanol or isopentanol are multiplied as the reactions roll on.
Classically, metabolism is studied by a reductionist approach that focuses on a single metabolic pathway.
Glycolysis is an oxygen independent metabolic pathway, meaning that it does not use molecular oxygen (i.e. atmospheric oxygen) for any of its reactions.