The Structure of ATP (AQA A Level Biology)

The Structure of ATP

• All organisms require a constant supply of energy to maintain their cells and stay alive

• This energy is required:

  • In anabolic reactions – building larger molecules from smaller molecules

  • To move substances across the cell membrane (active transport) or to move substances within the cell

  • In animals, energy is required:

    • For muscle contraction – to coordinate movement at the whole-organism level

    • In the conduction of nerve impulses, as well as many other cellular processes

• In all known forms of life, ATP from respiration is used to transfer energy in all energy-requiring processes in cells

• This is why ATP is known as the universal energy currency

• Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleotide

  • The monomers of DNA and RNA are also nucleotide

ATP

• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the energy-carrying molecule that provides the energy to drive many processes inside living cells

• ATP is another type of nucleic acid and hence it is structurally very similar to the nucleotides that make up DNA and RNA

• It is a phosphorylated nucleotide

• Adenosine (a nucleoside) can be combined with one, two or three phosphate groups

  • One phosphate group = adenosine monophosphate (AMP)

  • Two phosphate groups = adenosine diphosphate (ADP)

  • Three phosphate groups = adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

The structure of AMP, ADP and ATP