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Glycolysis

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Step 4: In this step of glycolysis, the 6 carbon molecule, fructose-1,6-biphosphate, it split into two 3 carbon molecules. The enzyme that catalyzes this reaction is fructose biphosphate aldolase. The word "glycolysis" literally means "to split or breakdown glucose." Lysis means to split or break and glyco refers to glucose.

The products of this reaction are dihydroxyacetone and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (commonly referred to as PGAL as an abbreviation for its traditional name, phosphoglyceraldehyde).

PGAL is the only molecule that can continue in the glycolytic pathway, therefore, dihydroxyacetone is eventually converted to PGAL by the enzyme, triose phosphate isomerase.

 

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