Aerobes obtain most of their energy from respiration = oxidation of food by O2 (the mechanism is the same of mitochondrial respiration)
Carbon source + O2 —> CO2 + H2O
Se l'accettore finale è diverso (carbonato, solfato, nitrato) allora la respirazione è ANAEROBIA
Anaerobes obtain energy from "fermentation": = degradation of organic fuel to get energy without net oxidation of fuel, instead via electron transfer to compounds other than O2
- Glycolysis (pyruvate)
- Hexose Monophosphate Shunt (lactate or ethanol)
- Entner-Doudoroff (ethanol)
Pyruvate can be further metabolized to
- lactic acid
- ethanol
- propionic acid
- butirric acid
- mixed (lactic, acetic, formic etc), H2 e CO2
