Question

Use the concept of free-energy and the term electronegativity to explain why facultative anaerobes grow faster under aerobic conditions than anaerobic conditions.

Answer 1

A facultative anaerobes makes ATP by aerobic respiration but also capable to survive if oxygen is not available. They start to do fermentation process for their survival. They can metbolite energy aerobically or anaerobicalyy as they stays mostly on the top surface of any media and so they can create more energy using respiration through oxygen.

Now, Free energy related to cell potential. Change in free energy,that has to be negative for spontaneous reaction , is equal to cell potential and moles of electrons that are transfered in the redox reaction and magnitude of charge carried by one mole of electron. Electro negativity is a tendency of the cell to atteact the electrons towards itself it is affected by number of cell and size. Now, In cell ,oxygen and reduction happend simulataneously ( redox reaction). The electro negativity is also called redox potential. the hydrogen has standard redox potential so it srves as control. Any substance which is more electro negative than hydrogen is called as positive redox potential and if less called negative redox potential. Oxygen is the most electro negative substance in the cell system.so the oxygen will give the most free energy yield to the respiration of cell .

In facultative anaerobes, this bacteria mostly gathered on the surface of the media because of their mass and density of the cell , and they can easily use the oxygen and by the tendency of elecro negativity they are capable to produce more free energy in presence of oxegen and can survice easily in aerobic condition.

Compared to redox reaction ,here in fermentation process which is called anaerobic respiration, facultative anaerobes must fuction wihout the oxygen so thaey uses the methd of breakdown of glucose and goes thru glycolysis to generate ATPs for survival. The difference between both process are aerobic respiration depends on the acceptance of electrons at the end of electrontransport chain and in this fermentation they can generate less number of free energy and ultimately ATPs because at the end of process they create more of alcohol and plenty of sugar but very little oxygen.