Cellular Respiration
How do producers use the sugars produced by photosynthesis for energy? They use a process called cellular respiration to get energy that their cells can use.
Cellular respiration is a series of chemical reactions that convert certain small molecules, such as sugars, into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the main molecule that cells use for energy. The inputs in this example are sugars and oxygen (O2). The outputs are ATP, carbon dioxide (CO2), and water (H2O).
The main stages in the process that drive ATP production are glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and the electron transport chain. Once formed, ATP can be used to drive many cellular and body processes, including building biological structures, moving molecules across cell membranes, and generating heat.
