CELLULAR RESPIRATION

OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION, ELECTRON

TRANSPORT CHAIN AND CHEMIOSMOSIS
Overall – 1 turn of Citric Acid Cycle

2 CO2
3 NADH
1 FADH2
1 ATP
 Oxidative phosphorylation

Oxidative phosphorylation is made up of two closely

connected components: the electron transport chain and
chemiosmosis

electron transport chain, electrons are passed from one

molecule to another, and energy released in these electron
transfers is used to form an electrochemical gradient.
What would happen to the energy stored in the
proton gradient if it weren't used to synthesize ATP
or do other cellular work?
• It would be released as heat, and interestingly
enough, some types of cells deliberately use the
proton gradient for heat generation rather than
ATP synthesis
Overall, what does the electron transport chain do for
the cell? It has two important functions:
2

• Regenerates electron carriers.

• Makes a proton gradient.

FERMENTATION AND ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION
 Fermentation and anaerobic respiration

•Most cellular respiration requires O2 to produce ATP

•Glycolysis can produce ATP with or without O2 (in

aerobic or anaerobic conditions)

•In the absence of O2, glycolysis couples with

fermentation or anaerobic respiration to produce
ATP
•Anaerobic respiration uses an electron transport
chain with an electron acceptor other than O2, for
example sulfate

•Fermentation uses phosphorylation instead of an

electron transport chain to generate ATP
 Anaerobic Respiration

• Anaerobic respiration takes place in certain

prokaryotic organisms that live in environments
without oxygen.

• do not use oxygen as a final electron acceptor at the

end of the chain; less electronegative substances can
also serve as final electron acceptors.
 What kinds of organisms use anaerobic cellular
respiration?

“sulfate-reducing” marine bacteria,

Methanogens
 Fermentation
Fermentation is a way of harvesting chemical energy without
using either oxygen or any electron transport chain

Fermentation consists of glycolysis plus reactions that

+
regenerate NAD , which can be reused by glycolysis

Two common types are alcohol fermentation and lactic acid

fermentation
 Alcohol Fermentation

•In alcohol fermentation, pyruvate is

converted to ethanol in two steps, with the
first releasing CO2

•Alcoholfermentation by yeast is used in

brewing, winemaking, and baking
• The first step releases carbon dioxide from the
pyruvate, which is converted to the two-carbon
compound acetaldehyde.
• In the second step, acetaldehyde is reduced by
NADH to ethanol
 Lactic acid fermentation

•In lactic acid fermentation, pyruvate is reduced to NADH,

forming lactate as an end product, with no release of CO2

•Lactic acid fermentation by some fungi and bacteria is

used to make cheese and yogurt

•Human muscle cells use lactic acid fermentation to

generate ATP when O2 is scarce
• During lactic acid fermentation, pyruvate is reduced directly
by NADH to form lactate as an end product, with no release
of CO2. (Lactate is the ionized form of lactic acid.)
• Lactic acid fermentation by certain fungi and
bacteria is used in the dairy industry to make cheese
and yogurt.
• Human muscle cells make ATP by lactic acid fermentation
when oxygen is scarce. This occurs during strenuous exercise,
when sugar catabolism for ATP production outpaces the
muscle’s supply of oxygen from the blood. Under these con-
ditions, the cells switch from aerobic respiration to
fermentation.
Fermentation and Aerobic Respiration Compared
•Both processes use glycolysis to oxidize glucose and other
organic fuels to pyruvate
•The processes have different final electron acceptors: an
organic molecule (such as pyruvate or acetaldehyde) in
fermentation and O2 in cellular respiration

•Cellular respiration produces 38 ATP per glucose molecule;

fermentation produces 2 ATP per glucose molecule