Help yourself to learn the Krebs cycle by following these free and printable Krebs cycle diagrams! These cycle diagrams are designed to guide you in studying the acid cycle. This Krebs cycle is the oxidation of pyruvic acid into CO2 and water. This cycle is also called citric acid cycle because the cycle begins with the formation of citric acid. Citric acid is a carboxylic acid containing 3 COOH groups. Hence this cycle is also called as tri carboxylic acid cycle or TCA cycle. This cycle was first described by Kreb’s in 1936. This cycle occurs only in the presence of oxygen. It takes place in the mitochondria. Take a look at the following diagram below.
The Krebs cycle or citric acid cycle is a key metabolic pathway that connects carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism. The reactions of the cycle are carried out by eight enzymes that completely oxidize acetate, in the form of acetyl-CoA, into two molecules each of carbon dioxide and water. Through catabolism of sugars, fats, and proteins, the two-carbon organic product acetyl-CoA (a form of acetate) is produced which enters the citric acid cycle. In eukaryotes, the Krebs cycle takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria. In prokaryotes, these steps both take place in the cytoplasm. The citric acid cycle is a closed loop; the last part of the pathway reforms the molecule used in the first step. You can see in the Krebs cycle diagrams, that this cycle includes eight major steps. Follow the cycle diagrams below.
Two carbon atoms are oxidizeed to CO2, the energy from these reactions is transferred to other metabolic processes through GTP (or ATP), and as electrons in NADH and QH2. The NADH generated in the citric acid cycle may later be oxidized (donate its electrons) to drive ATP synthesis in a type of process called oxidative phosphorylation. FADH2 is covalently attached to succinate dehydrogenase, an enzyme which functions both in the CAC and the mitochondrial electron transport chain in oxidative phosphorylation. FADH2, therefore, facilitates transfer of electrons to coenzyme Q , which is the final electron acceptor of the reaction catalyzed by the Succinate:ubiquinone oxidoreductase complex, also acting as an intermediate in the electron transport chain.
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