Which energy carrier is primarily regenerated by lactate dehydrogenase during anaerobic glycolysis?

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Multiple Choice

Which energy carrier is primarily regenerated by lactate dehydrogenase during anaerobic glycolysis?

Explanation:
In anaerobic glycolysis, the cell must recycle NAD+ to keep glycolysis moving, because the step that converts glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate uses NAD+. Lactate dehydrogenase accomplishes this by transferring electrons from NADH to pyruvate, reducing pyruvate to lactate and regenerating NAD+. That regenerated NAD+ is then free to accept more electrons in glycolysis, allowing continued ATP production without oxygen. NADH would otherwise build up and halt glycolysis, while FADH2 is tied to other pathways and isn’t regenerated here, and ATP isn’t directly regenerated by this reaction. So the energy carrier that lactate dehydrogenase regenerates is NAD+.

In anaerobic glycolysis, the cell must recycle NAD+ to keep glycolysis moving, because the step that converts glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate to 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate uses NAD+. Lactate dehydrogenase accomplishes this by transferring electrons from NADH to pyruvate, reducing pyruvate to lactate and regenerating NAD+. That regenerated NAD+ is then free to accept more electrons in glycolysis, allowing continued ATP production without oxygen. NADH would otherwise build up and halt glycolysis, while FADH2 is tied to other pathways and isn’t regenerated here, and ATP isn’t directly regenerated by this reaction. So the energy carrier that lactate dehydrogenase regenerates is NAD+.

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