Question

Is pyruvic acid the end product of glycolysis?

Answer 1

Pyruvic acid:

1. It is created in a cell's cytoplasm.
2. It is generated as a product of glycolysis.
3. A glucose molecule is partially oxidized into pyruvate during glycolysis.

Steps of glycolysis:

1. In step 1 hexokinase, an enzyme, adds a phosphate group to glucose in the cytoplasm of the cell.
2. This involves the transfer of a phosphate group from ATP to glucose to create glucose,6-phosphate.
3. In step 2 enzyme phosphoglucomutase isomerizes glucose-6-phosphate into fructose,6-phosphate.
4. In the third step, the enzyme phosphofructokinase uses ATP to transform fructose 6-phosphate into fructose 1,6-bisphosphate by adding a phosphate group to it.
5. In the fourth step, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate is transformed by the enzyme aldolase into the isomers glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate.
6. In the fifth step, dihydroxyacetone phosphate is transformed into glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate by triose-phosphate isomerase, which serves as the substrate for the following reaction.
7. In the sixth reaction, a hydrogen molecule is transferred from glyceraldehyde phosphate to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide by the enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase to create NADH⁺ and H⁺
8. To create 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase adds a phosphate to the oxidized glyceraldehyde phosphate.
9. In the seventh reaction with the aid of phosphoglycerokinase, phosphate is transferred from 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate to ADP to create ATP.
10. At the end of this step two molecules, each of phosphoglycerate and ATP are produced.
11. In the eighth reaction, the enzyme phosphoglyceromutase moves the phosphate of both phosphoglycerate molecules from the third to the second carbon to produce two molecules of 2-phosphoglycerate.
12. In the ninth reaction to create phosphoenolpyruvate, the enzyme enolase takes a water molecule out of 2-phosphoglycerate.
13. In the last reaction pyruvate kinase transfers a phosphate from phosphoenolpyruvate to ADP to produce pyruvate and ATP.
14. The final products are two molecules of pyruvate and ATP.