Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas Pathway

Synonyms

Glycolysis

Definition

The Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway allows the metabolic use of glucose to generate ATP, NADH, and several biosynthetic precursors such as 3-phosphoglycerate or pyruvate. The EMP pathway can occur both anaerobically (leading to one or several fermentation pathways) and aerobically through the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl CoA and the connection with the tricarboxylic acids (TCA) cycle. The classical version of the EMP pathway is present in bacteria and eukaryotes whereas several modified versions are present in anaerobic archaea. The second half of the pathway is almost universal, and thus, it could represent the oldest part of the pathway, related to a primordial origin of gluconeogenesis.

History

By 1940, the canonical glycolytic pathway (i.e., the one responsible for alcoholic fermentation in yeasts and anaerobic glycolysisin muscle) was elucidated. Actually, it was the result of a collective task with the contributions of, among others,...