Yeast
In yeast, pyruvate decarboxylase acts independently during anaerobic fermentation and releases the 2-carbon fragment as acetaldehyde plus carbon dioxide. Pyruvate decarboxylase creates the means of CO2 elimination, which the cell dispels. The enzyme is also means to create ethanol, which is used as an antibiotic to eliminate competing organisms. The enzyme is necessary to help the decarboxylation of alpha-keto acids because there is a build-up of negative charge that occurs on the carbonyl carbon atom in the transition state; therefore, the enzyme provides the suitable environment for TPP and the alpha-keto acid (pyruvate) to meet.
Read more about this topic: Pyruvate Decarboxylase
Famous quotes containing the word yeast:
“Blues is to jazz what yeast is to bread—without it, it’s flat.”
—Carmen McRae (b. 1922)
“Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?”
—Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 5:6.