Among the many molecules of high-energy phosphate compounds formed as a result of the functioning of the citric acid cycle, one molecule is synthesized at the substrate level. In which of the following reactions does this occur?
High-Yield Explanation
A molecule of guanosine triphosphate is synthesized from guanosine diphosphate and phosphate at the cost of hydrolyzing succinyl CoA to succinate and CoA. This constitutes substrate-level phosphorylation, and, in contrast to oxidative phosphorylation, this is the only reaction in the citric acid cycle that directly yields a high-energy phosphate bond. The sequence of reactions from alpha-ketoglutarate to succinate is catalyzed by the a -ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex and succinyl-CoA synthetase, respectively.