Biology / Unit 3 Bio 0544 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Pyruvate Oxidation to Acetyl CoA
Captions available
The idea
Pyruvate entering the mitochondrion loses a carbon as carbon dioxide, transfers electrons to NAD+, and joins coenzyme A to form acetyl CoA.
In practice
This three-step conversion happens twice per original glucose molecule, once for each pyruvate glycolysis produced.
Where people slip
This step, not glycolysis itself, is where the first carbon from glucose leaves the cell as carbon dioxide.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Biology