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Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose (C 6 H 12 O 6) into pyruvate and, in most organisms, occurs in the liquid part of cells (the cytosol). The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). [ 1 ]
Pyruvate, the product of glycolysis under aerobic conditions, is a metabolic branch point. As a preliminary to following the central path of aerobic metabolism from glycolysis to the citric acid cycle, we put pyruvate in perspective by considering its various possible fates.
The location where glycolysis, aerobic or anaerobic, occurs is in the cytosol of the cell. In glycolysis, a six-carbon glucose molecule is split into two three-carbon molecules called pyruvate. These carbon molecules are oxidized into NADH and ATP. For the glucose molecule to oxidize into pyruvate, an input of ATP molecules is required.
Glycolysis is the process of breaking down a glucose molecule into two pyruvate molecules, while storing energy released during this process as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH). [2] Nearly all organisms that break down glucose utilize glycolysis. [2]
Pyruvate oxidation is the step that connects glycolysis and the Krebs cycle. [4] In glycolysis, a single glucose molecule (6 carbons) is split into 2 pyruvates (3 carbons each). Because of this, the link reaction occurs twice for each glucose molecule to produce a total of 2 acetyl-CoA molecules, which can then enter the Krebs cycle.
Pyruvate, the conjugate base, CH 3 COCOO −, is an intermediate in several metabolic pathways throughout the cell. Pyruvic acid can be made from glucose through glycolysis , converted back to carbohydrates (such as glucose) via gluconeogenesis , or converted to fatty acids through a reaction with acetyl-CoA . [ 3 ]
In eukaryotes, glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm, pyruvate decarboxylation in the mitochondria, the citric acid cycle within the mitochondrial matrix, and oxidative phosphorylation via the electron transport chain on the mitochondrial cristae. Thus pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes (containing the dihydrolipoyl transacetylase enzymes) are found ...
The pyruvate produced by glycolysis is an important intermediary in the conversion of carbohydrates into fatty acids and cholesterol. [34] This occurs via the conversion of pyruvate into acetyl-CoA in the mitochondrion. However, this acetyl-CoA needs to be transported into cytosol where the synthesis of fatty acids and cholesterol occurs.