Which molecule is produced during glycolysis and used in the next stage of respiration?

Which molecule is produced during glycolysis and used in the next stage of respiration?

• A. Pyruvate
• B. Acetyl CoA
• C. NADH
• D. Oxygen

Answer: (A)

Glycolysis breaks glucose into two molecules of pyruvate in the cytosol, producing a small amount of ATP and NADH. Pyruvate is the molecule that moves on to the next stage of respiration: in aerobic conditions, each pyruvate is transported into the mitochondrion and converted to acetyl-CoA by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, releasing CO2 and generating more NADH. This makes pyruvate the direct link between glycolysis and the mitochondrial stages of respiration. Oxygen is not produced during glycolysis; it functions later as the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain, and while NADH is produced in glycolysis and later used to generate ATP, the immediate substrate entering the next stage is pyruvate.

Glycolysis breaks glucose into two molecules of pyruvate in the cytosol, producing a small amount of ATP and NADH. Pyruvate is the molecule that moves on to the next stage of respiration: in aerobic conditions, each pyruvate is transported into the mitochondrion and converted to acetyl-CoA by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, releasing CO2 and generating more NADH. This makes pyruvate the direct link between glycolysis and the mitochondrial stages of respiration. Oxygen is not produced during glycolysis; it functions later as the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain, and while NADH is produced in glycolysis and later used to generate ATP, the immediate substrate entering the next stage is pyruvate.