Question

Enzymes of glycolysis are found in:

• A. Cytosol
• B. Cell membrane
• C. Mitochondria
• D. Ribosomes

Hint:

Glycolysis runs even in cells lacking mitochondria, like red blood cells.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that breaks down one molecule of glucose into two molecules of pyruvate. The entire sequence of 10 reactions occurs in the soluble cytoplasm of the cell, that is, the cytosol.

Step 2: Every enzyme of glycolysis, including the regulatory enzymes hexokinase, phosphofructokinase-1 and pyruvate kinase, is a cytosolic enzyme. None of these enzymes is membrane bound or organelle bound.

Step 3: Why the other options are wrong. Mitochondria house the TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid oxidation, not glycolysis. The cell membrane carries transporters and signalling proteins, and ribosomes carry out protein synthesis, so neither location holds the glycolytic enzymes.

Hence all glycolytic enzymes are located in the cytosol.