Concept 9.3: After pyruvate is oxidized, the citric acid cycle completes the energy-yielding oxidation of organic molecules Flashcards
Glycolysis releases less than a quarter of the chemical energy in glucose that can be harvested by cells; most of the energy remains stockpiled in the
two molecules of pyruvate.
When O2 is present, the pyruvate in eukaryotic cells enters a mitochondrion, where the
oxidation of glucose is completed.
In aerobically respiring prokaryotic cells, this process occurs in the
cytosol.
Upon entering the mitochondrion via active transport, pyruvate is first converted to a compound called
acetyl coenzyme A, or acetyl CoA
This step, linking glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, is carried out by a multienzyme complex that catalyzes three reactions:
1 Pyruvate’s carboxyl group , the remaining two-carbon fragment is oxidized and the electrons transferred to , storing energy in the form of NADH, 3 Finally, coenzyme A (CoA), a sulfur-containing compound derived from a B vitamin, is attached via its sulfur atom to the two-carbon intermediate, forming acetyl CoA. Acetyl CoA has a high potential energy,
as the molecule enters the mitochondrion one
carbon is removed
forming carbon-dioxide as a
by-product
electrons are stripped forming
NADH
coenzyme-A attaches to the two carbon fragment forming
acetyl-CoA
The citric acid cycle functions as a metabolic furnace that further oxidizes organic fuel derived from
pyruvate
Figure 9.11 summarizes the inputs and outputs as pyruvate is broken down to three CO2 molecules, including the molecule of CO2 released during the conversion of pyruvate to
acetyl CoA
The cycle generates 1 ATP per turn by substrate-level phosphorylation, but most of the chemical energy is transferred to
NAD+ and FAD during the redox reactions.
The reduced coenzymes, NADH and FADH2, shuttle their cargo of high-energy electrons into the
electron transport chain
The citric acid cycle is also called the _______________________________, the latter honoring Hans Krebs, the German-British scientist who was largely responsible for working out the pathway in the 1930s.
tricarboxylic acid cycle or the Krebs cycle
the oxidation of glucose continues in the
citric acid cycle
pyruvate molecules formed during glycolysis are transported from the
cytosol into the mitochondrion
but pyruvate itself does not enter the
citric acid cycle