Question

What is the metabolic advantage of a substrate cycle? What is its cost?

Short answer

The two reactions or pathways will share the substrates and the products.

It can waste energy with no net gain of ATP or other compound.

Step-by-step solution

Introduction.

A substrate cycle is a series of metabolic processes that are repeated in a loop but do not result in net metabolite intake or creation. The cycle is activated by the transformation of a cofactor.

Metabolic advantage of substrate cycle

A substrate cycle, also known as a futile cycle, happens when two metabolic pathways run in opposing directions at the same time, with no overall impact other than to squander energy as heat.

In the context of cellular homeostasis, the substrate cycle may allow the cell to maintain an autonomous steady-state cycle flux, in which the cycle flux can fluctuate without affecting other fluxes in the metabolic network, as long as the cycle does not significantly disrupt cofactor stores.

The examples are,

Costs of substrate cycle.

ATP is hydrolyzed without any metabolic effort.A substantial quantity of chemical energy would be wasted as heat if these reactions were permitted to run at a high pace in the same cell. As a result, this wasteful process is dubbed a futile cycle.