most important product of Glycolysis

[Dencology]

what is the most important production of Glycolysis: ATP production or pyruvate production. ( i thought i would be ATP but then i read somewhere that without Pyruvate, there wouldn't be as many as ATP and NADH and .. at the end of the cycle.

can anyone make this clear?

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[doc3232]

I hate these questions (not what you are asking, but the question that you read because it is sort of confusing)...basically the most important thing is always the one that makes the most ATP by the END of the oxidation of glucose (including electron transport chain).
So the two pyruvates will give about another 25 ATP, which is better than the two ATP made in substrate level phosphorylation in glycolysis.

 

[iverson3504]

I agree wit doc, but to add on I'd say:

In an aerobic environment, the 2 pyruvates are most important because they can be passed down into TCA and then ETC can occur, forming about 34? additional ATP..

In an anaerobic environment, the 2 net ATP would be most important because there is no other significant ATP source. In this case, the pyruvate would need to be converted to either ethanol and co2 or lactic acid to recycle the NADH to NAD

 

[doc3232]

I agree wit doc, but to add on I'd say:

In an aerobic environment, the 2 pyruvates are most important because they can be passed down into TCA and then ETC can occur, forming about 34? additional ATP..

In an anaerobic environment, the 2 net ATP would be most important because there is no other significant ATP source. In this case, the pyruvate would need to be converted to either ethanol and co2 or lactic acid to recycle the NADH to NAD

Good point, so if the question was asking about in an aerobic env, which is the most important product, then the 2 ATP would be most important. Seems like a fair, good question to me...