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Bond Between Ribose & ATP

ATP is the energy molecule of the cell. ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate. Adenosine is made of an adenine ring and a ribose sugar. Adenosine is attached to three phosphate groups. The bond between the phosphate groups stores a lot of cellular energy.

  1. Energy Store

    • Animals obtain energy from the metabolism of foods. Plants obtain energy by converting the energy of the sun into food, which is then metabolized. ATP is the molecular form of the stored energy in the cell.

    Structure of ATP

    • ATP is composed of a ribose sugar molecule and an adenosine group, and three phosphate groups. Adenosine consists of carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms in a ring structure. It is the phosphate groups that provide energy to the cell. Phosphate groups are negatively charged. Having groups with high amounts of negative charge next to each other is unstable.

    Phosphate Groups

    • When the bond between the ultimate phosphate group and the penultimate phosphate group is broken, a lot of energy is released. Organisms use this energy for a variety of cellular processes, including DNA metabolism, muscle contraction, and cell division.

    Metabolism of ATP

    • When the energy of ATP is released, the bonds between the phosphate groups are broken, yielding a molecule of ADP (or adenosine di-phosphate) and a phosphate molecule. ADP could release another phosphate molecule yielding AMP, or adenosine mono-phosphate. However, this releases less energy due the relative stability of ADP compared to ATP.

    Energy Released

    • The bond between the phosphate groups on an ATP molecule are phosphodiester bonds. When broken, these bonds release about 7.3 kilocalories per mole (see reference 1).

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