Question

Describe two important roles of the citric acid cycle that are “amphibolic” in nature

Answer 1

Formation of 6 carbon molecule citrate by the combination of a 2 carbon molecule acetyl-CoA and a 4 carbon molecule oxaloacetate is visually an anabolic construction reaction.

Succinyl CoA, another product of TCA cycle, is utilized for the anabolic synthesis of porphyrin ring of hemoglobin and myoglobin that help as an oxygen carrier in the body of higher animals.

TCA cycle as many times said is a universal pathway for oxidative catabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, fatty acids and the likes. In TCA cycle series of catabolic reactions like step 3, and step 5 are high energy yielding steps. Mostly catabolic steps of TCA are exergonic in nature and are significantly important as energy harvesting steps