GLOSSARY

Enolase dehydrates phosphoglycerate to form phosphoenolpyruvate.

Cytosolic glycolysis generates pyruvate, reduced carriers and net ATP from glucose or suitable input. It does not directly require oxygen and also runs during aerobic activity. Pyruvate-to-lactate conversion helps regenerate oxidized carrier for continuation. Lactate therefore does not prove absent oxygen, and glycolysis is not only an emergency oxygen-shortage system. The fate of its products depends on demand, compartment and downstream capacity rather than the pathway name alone.

Phosphorylated intermediates retain glucose-derived carbon within cellular networks and support cleavage and group-transfer steps. Glucose phosphate can branch toward glycolysis, glycogen or the pentose pathway; some trioses also link glycerol synthesis. An intermediate's name identifies chemistry, not a guarantee that a higher level means greater flux. Its presence does not create a direct supplement recommendation, and local accumulation may reflect supply, consumption or a downstream constraint.

Flux control is usually distributed across steps, substrate supply and demand. Rate-limiting is condition-dependent rather than identifying an enzyme that always commands the whole pathway. A committed step marks more specific entry into a pathway and need not carry the greatest control. Increasing one enzyme or supplying its precursor does not guarantee greater network flux or performance without considering the wider system.