Question

Which carbon atoms of glucose end up as a carboxyl group in pyruvate?

Short answer

The carbon C-3 and C-4 of glucose end up as a carboxyl group in pyruvate.

Step-by-step solution

Mechanism of conversion of glucose to pyruvate

The mechanism of conversion of glucose to pyruvate is given below:

The conversion D- glucose converts into D- fructose using C-1 and C-6 carbons.

The D-fructose is then converted into dihydroxyacetone and D- glyceraldehyde.

D-glyceraldehyde converted into pyruvate show that C-3 and C-4 carbon participate in carboxyl group formation.