Question

Some explanations of glycolysis, lactic acid fermentation and aerobic cellular respiration seem to indicate that your cells SWITCH between the two options to finish glycolysis: lactic acid fermentation OR cellular respiration. This is not the case! Your cells do not choose EITHER lactic acid fermentation OR aerobic cellular respiration

In the above situation, what will happen to glycolysis rates that move forward to lactic acid fermentation? Why?

Answer 1

If the cells donot choose either lactic acid fermentation or aerobic respiration after glycolytic pathway. It will have inhibitory effect on the glycolytic rates or we can say the rates of biochemical recations involved in glycolysis will decrease or stop at the regulated steps.

It will lead to the accumulation of pyruvic acid in the cytoplasm which will have feedback inhibition on the pyruvate kinase to prevent the further conversion of Phosphoenol pyruvate to Pyruvate. The accumulation of PEP then have the inhibitory effect on the upstream biochemical reactions that ultimately acts on the hexokinase to stop the conversion of glucose to Glucose-6-phosphate and thus prevents glycolysis to occur. In the alternative case, the intermediates of glycolysis will be diverted towards other pathways like pentose phosphate pathway to synthesize other biomolecules like nucleotides or to regenerate glucose.

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