anaerobic respiration

Examples of anaerobic respiration in the following topics:

• Anaerobic Cellular Respiration

  • Some prokaryotes and eukaryotes use anaerobic respiration in which they can create energy for use in the absence of oxygen.
  • However, many organisms have developed strategies to carry out metabolism without oxygen, or can switch from aerobic to anaerobic cell respiration when oxygen is scarce.
  • Both methods are called anaerobic cellular respiration, where organisms convert energy for their use in the absence of oxygen.
  • Certain prokaryotes, including some species of bacteria and archaea, use anaerobic respiration.
  • Eukaryotes can also undergo anaerobic respiration.

• Transforming Chemical Energy

  • Cellular respiration is the process of transforming chemical energy into forms usable by the cell or organism.
  • Respiration occurs within the cytoplasm of prokaryotes.
  • Several prokaryotes and a few eukaryotes use an inorganic molecule other than oxygen to drive the oxidation of their nutrients in a process called anaerobic respiration.
  • Electron acceptors for anaerobic respiration include nitrate, sulfate, carbon dioxide, and several metal ions.
  • The energy released during cellular respiration is then used in other biological processes.

• Estuaries: Where the Ocean Meets Fresh Water

  • When these animals are exposed to low salinity, they stop feeding, close their shells, and switch from aerobic respiration (in which they use gills) to anaerobic respiration (a process that does not require oxygen).
  • When high tide returns to the estuary, the salinity and oxygen content of the water increases, causing these animals to open their shells, begin feeding, and to return to aerobic respiration.

• Importance of Glycolysis

  • The process does not use oxygen and is, therefore, anaerobic.
  • Glycolysis is the first of the main metabolic pathways of cellular respiration to produce energy in the form of ATP .
  • Glycolysis is the first pathway of cellular respiration that oxidizes glucose molecules.

• The Carbon Cycle

  • These chemical bonds store this energy for later use in the process of respiration.
  • Heterotrophs acquire the high-energy carbon compounds from the autotrophs by consuming them and breaking them down by respiration to obtain cellular energy, such as ATP.
  • The most efficient type of respiration, aerobic respiration, requires oxygen obtained from the atmosphere or dissolved in water.
  • Deeper underground, on land and at sea, are fossil fuels: the anaerobically-decomposed remains of plants that take millions of years to form.
  • Photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide gas to organic carbon, while respiration cycles the organic carbon back into carbon dioxide gas.

• Mitochondria

  • The matrix and inner membrane are rich with the enzymes necessary for aerobic respiration.
  • Cellular respiration is the process of making ATP using the chemical energy found in glucose and other nutrients.
  • Such functions are often associated with the reduced mitochondrion-derived organelles of anaerobic eukaryotes.

• Red Blood Cells

  • The lack of mitochondria also prevents use of the oxygen for metabolic respiration.
  • Anucleated red blood cells metabolize anaerobically (without oxygen), making use of a primitive metabolic pathway to produce ATP and increase the efficiency of oxygen transport.

• The Role of Prokaryotes in Ecosystems

  • The movement of carbon is via carbon dioxide, which is removed from the atmosphere by land plants and marine prokaryotes and is returned to the atmosphere via the respiration of chemoorganotrophic organisms, including prokaryotes, fungi, and animals.
  • Ammonia is catabolized anaerobically by some prokaryotes, yielding N2 as the final product.

• Regulatory Mechanisms for Cellular Respiration

  • Cellular respiration can be controlled at each stage of glucose metabolism through various regulatory mechanisms.
  • Various mechanisms are used to control cellular respiration.

• The Energy Cycle

  • Finally, in the process of breaking down food, called cellular respiration, heterotrophs release needed energy and produce "waste" in the form of CO2 gas.
  • Photosynthesis absorbs light energy to build carbohydrates in chloroplasts, and aerobic cellular respiration releases energy by using oxygen to metabolize carbohydrates in the cytoplasm and mitochondria.
  • Aerobic respiration consumes oxygen and produces carbon dioxide.
  • These two powerhouse processes, photosynthesis and cellular respiration, function in biological, cyclical harmony to allow organisms to access life-sustaining energy that originates millions of miles away in the sun.
  • Aerobic respiration consumes oxygen and produces carbon dioxide.