The pyruvate molecules made by glycolysis will now continue to get oxidized and broken down, so that we can release all of the energy that was available in our glucose molecule. The rest of this breakdown will happen inside the mitochondrion, so pyruvate moves into it. Once inside, pyruvate is oxidized, transferring electrons and hydrogens to NAD+, to form our favorite electron carrier, NADH. This also breaks down the pyruvate, causing the release of CO2. You may recall that CO2 is one of the overall products of cell respiration, and that we ultimately release 6 CO2 molecules for every glucose that enters respiration.
Well, here we see two of those 6 CO2s get released. Ultimately, you breathe them out. The NADH will be used in the electron transport chain, which is where most of our ATP comes from, and the acetyl-CoA will be fed into the Krebs cycle, our next stage. This is why the reaction that we just saw is called the link reaction.
It links, or connects, glycolysis to the Krebs cycle, allowing respiration to continue. If you are doing the respiration activity at Bioman Biology, you should now return to it and complete the tasks related to the link reaction. The link to the respiration interactive activity is in the description, in case you need it. If you enjoyed this video, please like it, subscribe, and check out the other free games, quizzes, and interactive learning experiences at Bioman Biology.