Question

How is acetyl-CoA produced?

Answer 1

Hint: Acetyl CoA is acetyl coenzyme A which is a molecule that plays a great role in the metabolism of lipid, proteins, carbohydrates, etc.

Complete answer:
The main function of Acetyl CoA is to transfer the acetyl group to the Kreb cycle that is also known as the citric acid cycle that helps in the production of energy by oxidation.

The acetyl CoA enzyme is produced by the oxidation of pyruvate that is known as pyruvate decarboxylation where the pyruvate is converted to acetyl CoA.
Pyruvate decarboxylation is also known as the link reaction because it is a link between the glycolysis reaction and the citric acid cycle/ Krebs cycle.

The glycolysis includes a series of reactions where a single glucose molecule having 6 carbons leads to the formation of 2 molecules of pyruvic acid that have 3 carbons each.
After the production of 2 molecules of pyruvic acid, each pyruvic acid undergoes a link reaction to produce two molecules of acetyl CoA which then enters the citric acid cycle.
The entire link reaction can be summarized as the reaction of pyruvate, NAD, and CoA gives acetyl CoA, NADH, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen ions.

Note: The enzyme required to produce acetyl CoA from pyruvate is pyruvate dehydrogenase complex which is a group of three enzymes and this complex can be regulated by other molecules for example the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex can be activated by the pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase also known as PDP whereas it can be deactivated by pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase which is also known as PDK.