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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Citric Acid Cycle
Which enzyme catalyzes the conversion of citrate to isocitrate?
Citrate isomerase
Aconitase
Citrate synthase
Phosphate
Aldolase
Aconitase
Aconitase is the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of citrate to isocitrate. This essential enzyme is vital in energy production, as it acts like an iron regulatory protein. The conversion of citrate to isocitrate is important since it is needed to react with isocitrate dehydrogenase.
Example Question #2 : Citric Acid Cycle
What is the name of the enzyme that incorporate Acetyl-CoA into the citric acid cycle?
Acetyl-CoA carboxylase
Citrate synthase
Pyruvate dehydrogenase
Thiolase
Pyruvate carboxylase
Citrate synthase
Citrate synthase is the first enzyme of the citric acid cycle. Its role is to condense acetyl-CoA onto oxaloacetate in order to generate citrate.
Acetyl-CoA carboxylase is an enzyme that attaches a carboxyl group to acetyl-CoA in order to generate malonyl-CoA, which plays a role in fatty acid synthesis by contributing two carbons at a time to the growing hydrocarbon chain. Moreover, malonyl-CoA also serves a regulatory role in the breakdown and synthesis of fatty acids. Since it is a major precursor to the synthesis of fatty acids, high levels of it inhibit the breakdown of fatty acids by preventing fatty acids from entering the mitochondria, where they are broken down via beta-oxidation. Thus, malonyl-CoA allows fatty acids to be synethesized without simultaneously being degraded.
Thiolase is an enzyme that condenses two molecules of acetyl-CoA into acetoacetyl-CoA. This molecule is an important intermediate in two important pathways. One is the production of ketone bodies, while the other is the mevalonate pathway, which is an important series of reactions that synthesizes many compounds, such as cholesterol.
Pyruvate dehydrogenase is an enzyme complex that converts pyruvate into acetyl-CoA, thus linking glycolysis with the citric acid cycle.
Pyruvate carboxylase is an enzyme that adds a carboxyl group to pyruvate in order to generate oxaloacetate. This reaction can be used either to generate oxaloacetate for use in the kreb's cycle, or in the gluconeogenesis pathway to synthesize glucose from a variety of substrates.
Example Question #3 : Citric Acid Cycle
The enzyme aconitase is responsible for catalyzing which of the following reactions?
The conversion of succinyl-CoA to succinate
The conversion of citrate to isocitrate
The conversion of malate to fumarate
The converstion of isocitrate to alpha-ketoglutarate
The conversion of citrate to isocitrate
The first step of the citric acid cycle involves the combination of acetyl-CoA with oxaloacetate, producing citrate. Next, aconitase catalyzes the isomerization of citrate to isocitrate, via the intermediate known as cis-aconitate. The conversion of isocitrate to alpha-ketoglutarate is catalyzed by isocitrate dehydrogenase. The citric acid cycle involves the conversion of fumarate to malate, not the reverse, although some bacteria do the reverse citric acid cycle to produce complex organic compounds. Succinyl-CoA is converted to succinate via succinyl-CoA synthetase (also known as succinate thiokinase).
Example Question #1 : Citric Acid Cycle
Which enzyme of the citric acid cycle is membrane-bound?
Aconitase
None of the Krebs cycle enzymes are membrane-bound
Isocitrate dehydrogenase
Succinate dehydrogenase
Succinyl-CoA synthetase
Succinate dehydrogenase
Succinate dehydrogenase (also known as succinate-coenzyme Q reductase or complex II) is bound to the inner mitochondrial membrane. It participates in both the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain. Aconitase is an enzyme involved in glycolysis, not the citric acid cycle (Krebs cycle).
Example Question #3 : Citric Acid Cycle
Which of the following enzymes would be inhibited by the addition of NADH?
Alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase
Fumarase
Isocitrate dehydrogenase
Citrate synthase
More than one of these
More than one of these
All enzymes that have NADH as a product would be inhibited by the addition of NADH. The correct answers are citrate synthase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase. Pyruvate dehydrogenase, which synthesizes acetyl-CoA from pyruvate, is also inhibited by NADH.
Example Question #4 : Citric Acid Cycle
Glucose is converted to pyruvate through glycolysis, and pyruvate must then be converted into acetyl-CoA in order to enter the citric acid cycle.
What is the name of the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate into acetyl-CoA?
Phosphofructokinase
Aconitase
Pyruvate synthase
Pyruvate dehydrogenase
Pyruvate kinase
Pyruvate dehydrogenase
Each enzyme listed in the answer choices catalyzes a reaction in glycolysis or the citric acid cycle, but pyruvate dehydrogenase is the only one responsible for converting pyruvate to acetyl-CoA. Pyruvate is decarboxylated (removal of a ) and this is replaced with an S-CoA group, forming the necessary acetyl-CoA molecule to feed into the citric acid cycle.
Example Question #1 : Citric Acid Cycle
Which citric acid cycle enzyme uses ?
Succinate dehydrogenase
Alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase
Citrate synthase
Malate dehydrogenase
Succinate dehydrogenase
Succinate dehydrogenase is the only enzyme in the citric acid cycle to use . The other dehydrogenases use while citrate synthase performs an unrelated reaction using acetyl-CoA.
Example Question #3 : Citric Acid Cycle
Which of the following citric acid cycle enzymes carries out a reversible reaction?
Citrate synthase
Malate dehydrogenase
Alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase
Isocitrate dehydrogenase
Malate dehydrogenase
Malate dehydrogenase catalyzes the conversion of malate to oxaloacetate and vice versa, while the other enzymes are the three irreversible steps in the citric acid cycle.
Example Question #1 : Citric Acid Cycle
In the context of the citric acid cycle, the action of succinate dehydrogenase results in the formation of which of these?
Malate and
Fumarate and
Oxaloacetate
and Citrate
and Fumarate
Fumarate and
Succinate dehydrogenase catalyzes the reaction from succinate to fumarate. A byproduct of this reaction is the formation of from .
Example Question #4 : Citric Acid Cycle
Which of the following enzymes does not catalyze a reaction within the citric acid cycle?
Pyruvate kinase
Isocitrate dehydrogenase
Alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase
Succinyl-CoA synthetase
Fumarase
Pyruvate kinase
The only enzyme listed in the answer choices that does not catalyze a reaction within the citric acid cycle is pyruvate kinase. Pyruvate kinase is an important enzyme in the final step of glycolysis, as it catalyzes the conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate and ADP to pyruvate and ATP. This reaction is not contained within the citric acid cycle though, and therefore pyruvate kinase does not catalyze any reactions in the citric acid cycle.
Each of the other enzymes listed catalyzes reactions within the citric acid cycle, as follows:
Isocitrate dehydrogenase catalyzes the conversion of isocitrate to alpha-ketoglutarate.
Alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase catalyzes the conversion of alpha-ketoglutarate to succinyl-CoA.
Succinyl-CoA synthetase catalyzes the conversion of succinyl-CoA to succinate.
Fumarase catalyzes the conversion of fumarate to malate.
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