Purpose of Anaerobic Respiration

Anaerobic respiration occurs in oxygen-poor marsh muds.
••• mud flats image by Stacey Lynn Payne from Fotolia.com

The purpose of respiration in general is to turn food into energy that a living biological cell can use. Anaerobic respiration is respiration that uses any molecule besides oxygen to do this. Many bacteria use anaerobic respiration.

Anaerobic vs. Aerobic Respiration

Aerobic respiration--which includes turning molecular oxygen into carbon dioxide--produces much more energy per unit of food than anaerobic respiration. In most parts of the world, living things that use aerobic respiration have a competitive advantage over living things that can't. However, anaerobes still dominate where oxygen levels are very low.

Facultative vs. Obligate Anaerobes

A facultative anaerobe can use aerobic respiration pathways when it has access to oxygen, and anaerobic pathways when it doesn't. An obligate anaerobe can only use anaerobic pathways, and in many cases cannot tolerate the presence of molecular oxygen in their environment at all.

History

All respiration was anaerobic when life on Earth first began. Photosynthesis produced oxygen as a toxic waste product until enough free molecular oxygen accumulated in the early atmosphere. This oxygen killed the vast majority of life at the time, until organisms developed systems to handle oxygen effectively and use it for aerobic respiration.

Related Articles

The Advantages of Anaerobic Respiration
Type of Energy Produced by Photosynthesis
Importance of Aerobic Cellular Respiration
Do All Cells Have Mitochondria?
How are Respiration & Combustion of Gasoline Similar?
How Do Bacteria Respire?
Where Do Bacteria Live?
What Is the Purpose of Breathing?
Definition of Primary Consumer
What Is the Optimum pH for Human Stomach Enzyme Activity?
What Happens to Carbon Dioxide During Photosynthesis?
What Are the Five Subdivisions of Kingdoms?
Respiration in Plants & Animals
How Does Photosynthesis Affect the Atmosphere of the...
How Do Living Things Use Energy?
What Is the Meaning of Thermal Processing?
Can Eukaryotes Survive Without Mitochondria?
What Happens When There Is No Oxygen Available at the...

Dont Go!

We Have More Great Sciencing Articles!