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The Link Reaction

Pyruvate enters the mitochondria. There it undergoes decarboxylation, dehydrogenation by pyruvate dehydrogenase to form two-carbon acetate and carbon dioxide. The removal of carbon dioxide from pyruvate is called decarboxylation. Decarboxylation is accompanied by dehydrogenation the removal of hydrogen. The hydrogen reduces NAD to reduced NAD.The acetate reacts with coenzyme A (coA) to form acetyl coA.NAD is positive and the equation for the reduction can be written asNAD+ + H2 → NADH + H+ or just reduced NAD.

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Specification: AQA Biology (7402), A-level, 3.5.2 Respiration. Topic: Respiration.

Key terms in this lesson

sarcomere
The contractile unit of a myofibril, delineated by two Z-lines, containing overlapping actin and myosin filaments.
actin
A thin protein myofilament in a myofibril that, together with myosin, slides during muscle contraction; its myosin-binding sites are covered by tropomyosin in resting muscle.
myosin
A thick protein myofilament with a hinged globular head that binds to actin and ATP and pulls actin filaments during muscle contraction.

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