Final answer:
The statement positing glycerol's conversion to pyruvate for gluconeogenesis is false. Glycerol actually enters the gluconeogenesis pathway as DHAP, not pyruvate, which is important during periods like starvation and low carbohydrate diets.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement 'Glycerol is an important substrate for gluconeogenesis because it can be converted to pyruvate and enter the gluconeogenesis pathway' is False. Glycerol, derived from the hydrolysis of triacylglycerols (TAG), indeed plays a role in gluconeogenesis, however, it is not converted to pyruvate but to glycerol-3-phosphate (G-3-P) and then to dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP), which enters the pathway that effectively bypasses the pyruvate phase of gluconeogenesis.
Gluconeogenesis occurs mainly in the liver and kidney, especially during states such as starvation, low carbohydrate diets, pregnancy, lactation, and febrile diseases. It is a crucial metabolic pathway that ensures a continuous supply of glucose to glucose-dependent organs like the brain when dietary glucose is scarce. Instead of glycerol converting to pyruvate, it is involved earlier in the gluconeogenesis pathway when converted to DHAP, which can then participate in the subsequent steps leading towards glucose production.