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Read the Three Fates of Pyruvate
Pyruvate links glycolysis to fermentation or mitochondrial oxidation.
NSEB · Respiration in Plants · 4 linked questions · 100% coverage
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Living-system questions are solved by matching a structure or organism to its function, process and stated condition.
Structure · The part being namedFunction · What that part doesCondition · The situation that changes the answer
Study deeper: NCERT Biology · Respiration in Plants
Compare the main routes
Without oxygen, pyruvate may be reduced to lactate or converted to ethanol and CO₂. Aerobically, it enters mitochondria and is oxidatively decarboxylated to acetyl-CoA.
Why it is a gateway
Acetyl-CoA enters the TCA cycle, making the link reaction the gateway from glycolysis to aerobic mitochondrial oxidation. Its conversion of pyruvate is the first CO₂-releasing step per pyruvate.
OlympIQ exam lens
- ✓Three common fates: aerobic oxidation, lactate, ethanol.
- ✓Link reaction: pyruvate → acetyl-CoA + CO₂.
- ✓Photorespiration is not a pyruvate fate.
OlympIQ trap
The link reaction acts on pyruvate, not directly on glucose.
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