What have Cauliflower and Sake production in common?
Cauliflower and Sake, what they have in common?
During the Cell Biology Laboratory we use cauliflower to explain
alcohol production.
In principle energy is stored in our cells as a chemical compound called glycogen. By glycolysis and subsequent steps, either anaerobic or aerobic, this energy can be harvested. The anaerobic pathway, often called fermentation, can lead to ethanol production (our alcohol in Sake using yeast cells), while the aerobic pathway, the so-called Krebs or TCA cycle, breakdown the chemicals to carbon dioxide and gain energy.
Consequently, while cauliflower and sake production might look different, they have similar cell biology pathways
in common.
Many steps need enzymes, in principle catalysts, to speed up and enable the chemical reactions.
In the Cell Biology Laboratory we use cauliflower, purify mitochondria (our nuclear reactor in the cell) and measure the activity of one of the typical enzymes in the Krebs-cycle (succinate dehydrogenase).
Alcohol production, bioethanol production, all fermentation procedures are using the building blocks of cell biology.
Thus, to understand sustainable energy production a good knowledge of cell biology is important.
Isn`t it amazing that cauliflower teaches us about the world of sustainable energy production and fermentation?
