How many ATP are produced in cellular respiration?
Aerobic cellular respiration produces a total of 36 or 38 ATPs, as described below.
The total number of ATPs varies from 38 to 36 depending upon the shuttle system, used for transporting electrons obtained from glycolysis to mitochondria. If malate-aspartate shuttle is used (which exchanges cytoplasmic NADH with mitochondrial NADH) then 38 ATPs are produced as a NADH gives 3 ATPs after oxidative phosphorylation. If glycerol phosphate shuttle is used (which exchanges cytoplasmic NADH2 with mitochondrial FADH2) then 36 ATPs are produced as a FADH2 gives 2 ATPs by oxidative phosphorylation.
| Process | ATPs | Produced by |
| Glycolysis | 2 | Substrate level phosphorylation |
| Glycolysis | 6 or 4 | Oxidative phosphorylation of 2 NADH2 |
| Link Reaction | 6 | Oxidative phosphorylation of 2 NADH2 |
| Krebs' Cycle | 2 | Substrate level phosphorylation |
| 4 | Oxidative phosphorylation of 2 FADH2 | |
| 18 | Oxidative phosphorylation of 6 NADH |
The total number of ATPs varies from 38 to 36 depending upon the shuttle system, used for transporting electrons obtained from glycolysis to mitochondria. If malate-aspartate shuttle is used (which exchanges cytoplasmic NADH with mitochondrial NADH) then 38 ATPs are produced as a NADH gives 3 ATPs after oxidative phosphorylation. If glycerol phosphate shuttle is used (which exchanges cytoplasmic NADH2 with mitochondrial FADH2) then 36 ATPs are produced as a FADH2 gives 2 ATPs by oxidative phosphorylation.