The invention provides non-natural microbial organisms containing enzymatic pathways and/or metabolic modifications for enhancing carbon flux through acetyl-CoA, or oxaloacetate and acetyl-CoA. Embodiments of the invention include microbial organisms having a pathway to acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate that includes phosphoketolase (a PK pathway). The organisms also have either (i) a genetic modification that enhances the activity of the non-phosphotransferase system (non-PTS) for sugar uptake, and/or (ii) a genetic modification(s) to the organism's electron transport chain (ETC) that enhances efficiency of ATP production, that enhances availability of reducing equivalents or both. The microbial organisms can optionally include (iii) a genetic modification that maintains, attenuates, or eliminates the activity of a phosphotransferase system (PTS) for sugar uptake. The enhanced carbon flux through acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate can be used for production of a bioderived compound, and the microbial organisms can further include a pathway capable of producing the bioderived compound.