Glycolysis

[Adom]

Hi. I want to ask, why in anaerobic conditions piruvate is converting to lactate or alchol? Where oxygen is used in aerobic conditions? What it do? 

[BabcockHall]

The fate of pyruvate under anaerobic conditions depends on the organism.  Your question about oxygen is also related to the fate of pyruvate, but your question is to broad to easily be answered.  Is this a homework exercise?

[Adom]

No. I just readed about cellular respiration, and get confused, where is oxygen used. 

[Endy0816]

On 8/13/2019 at 3:01 PM, Adom said:

Hi. I want to ask, why in anaerobic conditions piruvate is converting to lactate or alchol? Where oxygen is used in aerobic conditions? What it do? 

Oxygen acts as an electron acceptor.

 

"In biology, a terminal electron acceptor is a compound that receives or accepts an electron during cellular respiration or photosynthesis. All organisms obtain energy by transferring electrons from an electron donor to an electron acceptor. During this process (electron transport chain) the electron acceptor is reduced and the electron donor is oxidized."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_acceptor

[BabcockHall]

In yeast pyruvate is converted into ethanol and carbon dioxide, whereas in some bacteria, pyruvate is converted into lactate.  You can apply oxidation numbers of carbon to show that either of these two processes accounts for the electrons taken from one molecule of glucose in the production of 2 molecules of pyruvate.

Edited August 16, 2019 by BabcockHall