Question

give a brief account on bacterial aerobic respiration insisting on main phases of this respiration

Answer 1

Bacteria can respire in presence and absence of oxygen. When oxygen is present bacteria may respre called aerobic respiration and in the absence of oxygen the respiration is called anaerobic respiration.

There are four main phases of aerobic respiration:

1. Glycolysis: During this phase bacteria converts glucose molecule into pyruvate molecules through a series of reactions involving many glycolytic enzymes.

2. Krebs cycle: The pyruvate molecules produced by the glycolysis converts into acetyl coA with the help of pyruvate decarboxylase complex enzyme and enters to the kreb cycle. During kreb cycle acetyl coA converts into oxaloacetate resulting into production of NADH and FADH2.

Electron transport chain: NADPH and FADH2 act as electron donor for electron transport chain. The energy released from electron transport chain is used to develop proton gradient.

Oxidative phosphorylation: The enzyme ATP synthase uses energy from proton gradient and synthesize ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate via oxidative phosphorylation. The final acceptor of electrons in aerobic respiration is oxygen molecules.