Definition
Pyruvate is the conjugate base of pyruvic acid (2-oxopropanoic acid), the simplest keto acid. It is a key component of intermediary metabolism in all extant organisms. It is derived principally from glycolysis of glucose in many organisms and serves as a major precursor of fatty acids via the synthesis of acetyl-CoA. It is also a feedstock for the citric acid cycle in which it is carboxylated to yield oxaloacetate. It can also be shunted into amino acid metabolism by reductive amination to yield alanine and is a transient species in alcoholic fermentation, in which it is decarboxylated to yield acetaldehyde, which is ultimately reduced to yield ethanol.
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Cleaves, H.J.(. (2015). Pyruvate. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_5134
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_5134
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