Final answer:
GTP is produced during the conversion of succinyl-CoA to succinate in the citric acid cycle, which is the only step that directly forms a high-energy phosphate compound.
Step-by-step explanation:
Guanosine triphosphate (GTP), which can be converted to ATP, is produced during the reaction of succinyl-CoA to succinate in the citric acid cycle.
This is the only step in the citric acid cycle that directly forms a high-energy phosphate compound.
The enzyme succinyl-CoA synthetase catalyzes the formation of GTP from guanosine diphosphate (GDP) and inorganic phosphate, capitalizing on the energy released from the hydrolysis of the high-energy thioester bond of succinyl-CoA.
Subsequently, GTP can transfer its terminal phosphate group to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to generate ATP through the action of nucleoside diphosphokinase.