5.8C: Fermentation Without Substrate-Level Phosphorylation
- Give examples of various types of fermentation: homolactic, heterolactic and alcoholic
Fermentation is the process of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen, via an electron transport chain. Fermentation is important in anaerobic conditions when there is no oxidative phosphorylation to maintain the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) by glycolysis.
During fermentation, pyruvate is metabolised to various compounds. Homolactic fermentation is the production of lactic acid from pyruvate; alcoholic fermentation is the conversion of pyruvate into ethanol and carbon dioxide; and heterolactic fermentation is the production of lactic acid as well as other acids and alcohols. Fermentation does not necessarily have to be carried out in an anaerobic environment. For example, even in the presence of abundant oxygen, yeast cells greatly prefer fermentation to oxidative phosphorylation, as long as sugars are readily available for consumption (a phenomenon known as the Crabtree effect). The antibiotic activity of Hops also inhibits aerobic metabolism in Yeast.
Sugars are the most common substrate of fermentation, and typical examples of fermentation products are ethanol, lactic acid, lactose, and hydrogen. However, more exotic compounds can be produced by fermentation, such as butyric acid and acetone. Yeast carries out fermentation in the production of ethanol in beers, wines, and other alcoholic drinks, along with the production of large quantities of carbon dioxide. Fermentation occurs in mammalian muscle during periods of intense exercise where oxygen supply becomes limited, resulting in the creation of lactic acid.
Key Points
- Fermentation without substrate level phosphorylation uses an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound.
- Fermentation is important in anaerobic conditions when there is no oxidative phosphorylation to maintain the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) by glycolysis.
- During fermentation, pyruvate is metabolised to various compounds such as lactic acid, ethanol and carbon dioxide or other acids.
Key Terms
- fermentation : Any of many anaerobic biochemical reactions in which an enzyme (or several enzymes produced by a microorganism) catalyses the conversion of one substance into another; especially the conversion (using yeast) of sugars to alcohol or acetic acid with the evolution of carbon dioxide.
- substrate : a surface on which an organism grows or to which it is attached
- oxidative phosphorylation : Oxidative phosphorylation (or OXPHOS in short) is a metabolic pathway that uses energy released by the oxidation of nutrients to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
- electron acceptor : An electron acceptor is a chemical entity that accepts electrons transferred to it from another compound. It is an oxidizing agent that, by virtue of its accepting electrons, is itself reduced in the process.