How is acetyl-CoA produced?
1 Answer
In the link reaction.
Explanation:
Acetyl coenzyme A is a component of cellular respiration. In cellular respiration a glucose is broken into two pyruvate in the cytoplasm by two oxidations, this process is called glycolysis. Two electron carriers (NAD+) are reduced in the process to become NAD + H+ and there is a net gain of two ATP.
The pyruvate is then transported into the mitochondrial matrix if oxygen is present and therefore it would undergo aerobic respiration. In the matrix each pyruvate will undergo the link reaction decarboxylates it by removing a carbon dioxide, so that it goes from a three carbon molecule to a two carbon molecule. Then it is oxidized meaning an electron is removed and taken away by a NAD+ electron carrier. This forms an acetyl group. Then an coenzyme A binds to the acetyl group to form acetyl coenzyme A.
Reference
Allott, Andrew, and David Mindorff. Biology: Oxford IB Diploma Programme. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2014. Print.
