Question

One way to generate acetyl-CoA is to convert pyruvate into acetyl-CoA by stripping off a CO₂ molecule. The removal of CO₂ is referred to as what type of reaction?

Answer 1

Answer:

Decarboxylation

Explanation:

Pyruvate is produced by the glycolysis in cytoplasm. The oxidation of pyruvate takes place in mitochondrial matrix.

Pyruvate is converted to acetyl-CoA in the followiing ways as:

• Carboxyl group of the pyruvate is snipped off and a molecule of carbon dioxide is released (Decarboxylation) and a two-carbon molecule is left behind.
• The two-carbon molecule produced is oxidized further.
• This oxidized two-carbon molecule is then gets attached to Coenzyme A to produce acetyl-CoA.

The reaction is shown below:

Pyruvate + NAD⁺ + CoA-SH ⇒ acetyl-CoA + NADH + CO₂

The reactions in which carbon dioxide gas is released is called as decarboxylation reactions.