In: Biology
1. Why does fermentation not happen in an aerobic environment?
2. You and your friend are studying for the first microbiology exam. Your friend says that “Fermentation and anaerobic respiration are the same since they both happen in the absence oxygen.” Is your friend correct or incorrect? Explain.
Fermentation is a cellular process occurs only absence of oxygen. Because in oxygen act as a excellent electron acceptor from substrate molecule in metabolic process, but in absence of oxygen then organic molecule(Pyruvate or lactate) act as final electron acceptor.Now if oxygen present in the cell then it oxidize pyruvate into further simple products like acertyl CoA then it undergoes TCA . This process transfer electron to oxygen. So,in presenece of oxygen fermentation is not possible.
“Fermentation and anaerobic respiration are the same since they both happen in the absence oxygen.” this statement is incorrect. Although both fermentation and anaerobic respiration occus in the absence of oxygen but in aerobic respiration final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain is an inorganic molecule(like nitrate,sulfate,iron )other than oxygen, whereas fermentation is an anaerobic energy yielding process in which final electron acceptor is organic molecule.In brief fermentation is a self contained process and no outside electron acceptor is involved but in anaerobic respiration other inorganic molecule involved. Hope you understand, good luck.