Answer:
Pyruvate
Explanation:
Glycolysis refers to the pathway through glucose is oxidized to pyruvate.
In glycolysis, a molecule of glucose passes through ten enzyme catalyzed steps to yield two molecules of pyruvate.
Step 1: Glucose is phosphorylated to form glucose-6-phosphate
Step 2: Glucose-6-phosphate is converted to fructose-6-phosphate
Step 3: Fructose-6-phosphate is further phosphorylated to form fructose-1,6-bisphosphate
Step 4: Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate is cleaved into glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate
Step 5: Dihydroxyacetone phosphate is converted to another molecule of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate.
Step 6: Two molecules of Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate are converted to two molecules of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate
Step 7: Two molecules of 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate are converted to 3-phosphoglycerate
Step 8: Two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate are converted to two molecules of 2-phosphoglycerate
Step 9: Two molecules of 2-phosphoglycerate are converted to two molecules of phosphoenolpyruvate
Step 10: Two molecules of phosphoenolpyruvate are converted to two molecules of pyruvate, the end-product of glycolysis.
Therefore, the presence of pyruvate molecules in red blood cells can be used to test for their ability to complete glycolysis
