Question

in terms of atp, approximately how many glucose molecules would it take to translate a 60 amino acid polypeptide chain in a eukaryote undergoing aerobic respiration?

Answer 1

To synthesize a 60 amino acid polypeptide in aerobic respiration, it takes approximately 1.67 glucose molecules to produce the required 60 ATPs, as each glucose yields about 36 ATPs.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the context of aerobic respiration in eukaryotic cells, the translation of a single amino acid requires one GTP, which is equivalent to one ATP (since GTP can be readily converted to ATP). Thus, translating a 60 amino acid polypeptide would normally require 60 ATPs.

Considering that each glucose molecule produces approximately 36 ATPs through aerobic respiration, we would estimate that it takes slightly more than one and a half glucose molecules to translate a 60 amino acid polypeptide. If we assume that we need exactly 60 ATPs, we would divide 60 ATPs needed by 36 ATPs produced per glucose to find that it takes approximately 1.67 glucose molecules to produce enough energy for the synthesis of a 60 amino acid chain.