Metabolism | Fatty Acid Oxidation: Part 2

📚 Premium Notes & Illustrations for Fatty Acid Oxidation Part 2: https://www.ninjanerd.org/lecture/fatty-acid-oxidation-part-2-3

Ninja Nerds!
In Part 2 of our Fatty Acid Oxidation series, Professor Zach Murphy concludes this essential metabolic pathway by focusing on the ATP yield generated from the complete oxidation of long-chain fatty acids. This lecture helps you synthesize everything you’ve learned by calculating net energy production and addressing common points of confusion in β-oxidation.

We begin by reviewing how repeated cycles of β-oxidation produce NADH, FADH₂, and acetyl-CoA, which feed into the electron transport chain and TCA cycle to generate ATP. A key focus of this lecture is the energy balance from a 16-carbon fatty acid, palmitoleic acid, with two different ATP yield models:
• 1:52: ATP is hydrolyzed to AMP + Pi during activation.
• 13:52: We subtract 2 ATP for activation cost.
• Using the traditional model (NADH = 3 ATP, FADH₂ = 2 ATP), the net ATP yield is 129 ATP.
• Using the modern model (NADH = 2.5 ATP, FADH₂ = 1.5 ATP), the net ATP yield is 106 ATP.

This lecture clarifies these calculations and reinforces why understanding activation cost, cofactor yield, and ATP conversion models is critical for accurately interpreting β-oxidation energetics.

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