Q.Describe the oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvic acid (the link reaction), naming its reactants and products, and explain why it is described as 'linking' glycolysis to the rest of aerobic respiration.

[!TLDR]

The link reaction oxidatively decarboxylates pyruvic acid to acetyl CoA (+CO2 +NADH) in the mitochondrial matrix, connecting cytoplasmic glycolysis to the mitochondrial TCA cycle. …

The link reaction, catalysed by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in the mitochondrial matrix, takes pyruvic acid (the product of glycolysis) as its reactant, along with NAD+ and coenzyme A, and produces acetyl CoA, carbon dioxide, and NADH. It is called the 'link' reaction because it connects the cytoplasmic pathway of glycolysis (which produces pyruvic acid) to the mitochondrial pathway of the TCA cycle (which actually uses acetyl CoA, not pyruvic acid, as its starting substrate) -- without this reaction, the produ …

State the reactants (pyruvic acid, NAD+, CoA) and products (acetyl CoA, CO2, NADH) of the link reaction, then explain why it is th …

Thinking the TCA cycle directly uses pyruvic acid as its substrate -- it actually uses acetyl CoA, which is why t …