How Cells

Release Energy
Fermentation Generates ATP Only in Glycolysis
• Most of the known organisms on Earth, including humans, use
aerobic cellular respiration.
• Nevertheless, life thrives without oxygen gas in waterlogged
soils, deep puncture woods, sewage treatment plants, and your
digestive tract. The microbes in this habitats generate ATP
using metabolic pathways that are anerobic.
• In organisms that use fermentation, glycolysis still yields two
ATPs, two NADHs, and two molecules of pyruvate per
molecule of glucose. But the NADH does not donate its
electrons to an ETC, nor is the pyruvate further oxidized.
• Instead, in fermentation, electrons from NADH reduce
pyruvate. This process generates NAD+, which is essential to
glycolysis to continue. But fermentation produces no additional
ATP.
• In alcoholic fermentation,
pyruvate is converted to ethanol
and , while NADH is oxidized to
produced NAD+. Alcoholic
fermentation produces wine from
grapes, beer from barley, and cider
from apples.
• In lactic acid fermentation, a cell
uses NADH to reduce pyruvate, but
in this case, the products are NAD+
and lactic acid (lactate). Fermenting
the lactose in milk, producing lactic
acid that gives yogurt its sour taste.