A Bacterium Running Low on NADPH Could ________ to Generate

Question

A bacterium running low on NADPH could ________ to generate more of this coenzyme.
A) degrade an amino acid or nucleic acid
B) invoke the pentose phosphate pathway
C) degrade a fatty acid
D) use a broad specificity phosphatase with inorganic phosphatase and NADH

Accepted Answer

The pentose phosphate pathway is a metabolic pathway that generates NADPH, along with ribose-5-phosphate, which can be used in nucleotide biosynthesis. Therefore, if a bacterium is running low on NADPH, invoking the pentose phosphate pathway can be a way to generate more of this coenzyme.