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Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration

Aerobic respiration is a metabolic process that occurs in the presence of oxygen, converting chemical energy into ATP, primarily in eukaryotic cells' mitochondria, resulting in the production of carbon dioxide and water. In contrast, anaerobic respiration occurs without oxygen, using alternative electron acceptors like sulfate or nitrate, and is crucial for energy production in low-oxygen environments, though it yields less energy than aerobic respiration. Both processes play significant roles in energy metabolism and biogeochemical cycles.

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8 views5 pages

Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration

Aerobic respiration is a metabolic process that occurs in the presence of oxygen, converting chemical energy into ATP, primarily in eukaryotic cells' mitochondria, resulting in the production of carbon dioxide and water. In contrast, anaerobic respiration occurs without oxygen, using alternative electron acceptors like sulfate or nitrate, and is crucial for energy production in low-oxygen environments, though it yields less energy than aerobic respiration. Both processes play significant roles in energy metabolism and biogeochemical cycles.

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louiejamescabasagan
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What is Aerobic Respiration?

Aerobic respiration is a set of metabolic reactions that take place in the presence of
oxygen, occurring in a cell to convert chemical energy into ATPs.

• Aerobic respiration takes place in all plants, animals, birds, and humans, except for
some primitive prokaryotes.
• In aerobic respiration, oxygen acts as an electron acceptor which helps produce
ATPs more effectively and more quickly.
• The double bond in the oxygen has higher energy than other bonds which aids to
produce more ATPs.
• It is the preferred method of degradation of pyruvate after glycolysis where the
pyruvate then enters the mitochondria to be fully oxidized during the Kreb’s cycle.
• The process of aerobic respiration is utilized for the oxidation of carbohydrates, but
products from fats and proteins are also used as reactants.
• Carbon dioxide gas and water are the two products of aerobic respiration along with
the energy that is used to add a third phosphate group to ADP and form ATP.
• Other energy-rich molecules like NADH and FADH2 are converted into ATP via
electron transport chain with oxygen and protons.
• During aerobic respiration, most ATPs are produced during oxidative
phosphorylation where the energy of oxygen molecule is used to pump protons out
of the membrane.
• The passage of protons creates a potential that is then used to initiate ATP synthase
and produce ATP from ADP and a phosphate group.
• Ideally, a total of 38 ATPs are produced at the end of the aerobic respiration.
However, some energy is lost due to leaking of the membrane or the cost of moving
pyruvate through the cell, as a result of which about 29 30 ATPs are only produced.
• Aerobic respiration results in complete oxidation of carbohydrate molecules which
take place in the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells as the enzymes for the process
are present there.
What is Anaerobic Respiration?

Anaerobic respiration is a process of cellular respiration where the high energy electron
acceptor is neither oxygen nor pyruvate derivatives.

Anaerobic respiration is the process of creating energy without the presence of oxygen.
Sometimes the body can’t supply the muscles with the oxygen it needs to create energy –
such as in a sprinting situation. Without the process of anaerobic respiration there may be
no energy supplied to muscles in times of high demand.

• In anaerobic respiration, the electron acceptor can be sulfate ion (SO4–) or nitrate
ion (NO3–) or a variety of other molecules.
• Some archaea, called methanogens, are known to use carbon dioxide as the
electron acceptor, producing methane as a by product.
• Similarly, another group of purple sulfur bacteria uses sulfate as an electron
acceptor, thus producing hydrogen sulfide as a by product.
• These organisms reside in low-oxygen environments and thus opt for anaerobic
pathways to break down the chemical fuels.
• Anaerobic respiration is similar to aerobic respiration in that the molecules enter the
electron transport chain to pass the electrons to the final electron acceptor.
• The final electron acceptors involved in anaerobic respiration have a smaller
reduction potential than oxygen molecules which results in less energy production.
• Anaerobic respiration, however, is essential for biogeochemical cycles of carbon,
nitrogen, and sulfur.
• The nitrate that acts as an electron acceptor in anaerobic respiration produces
nitrogen gas as a by-product, and this process is the only route for fixed nitrogen to
reach the atmosphere.
• Fermentation is another pathway for anaerobic respiration, where the only energy
extraction pathway is glycolysis, and the pyruvate is not further oxidized via the citric
acid cycle.
• The energy-rich molecule, NADH, is also not utilized during fermentation.
• Anaerobic respiration takes place in many environments like freshwater, soil, deep-
sea surfaces. Some microbes in oxygenated environments also utilize anaerobic
respiration because oxygen cannot readily diffuse through their surface.

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