All Topics  
Aerobic organism

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Aerobic organism
 
 
  Topics Aerobic organism Topic Home

An aerobic organism or aerobe is an organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
 that can survive and grow in an oxygenated environment.


od example would be the oxidation of glucose
Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
 (a monosaccharide
Monosaccharide

Monosaccharides are the most basic unit of carbohydrates. They are the simplest form of sugar and are usually colorless, water-soluble, crystal solids....
) in aerobic respiration.
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + 38 ADP
Adenosine diphosphate

Adenosine diphosphate, abbreviated ADP, is a nucleotide. It is an ester of pyrophosphoric acid with the nucleoside adenosine. ADP consists of the pyrophosphate Functional group, the pentose sugar ribose, and the nucleobase adenine....
 + 38 phosphate ? 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + 38 ATP
Adenosine triphosphate

This article is about the chemical used by cells as an energy carrier. For other uses, see ATP .Adenosine-5'-triphosphate is a multifunctional nucleotide, and plays an important role in cell biology as a coenzyme that is the "molecule unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer....
The energy released in this equation is about 2880 kJ per mol, which is conserved in regenerating 38 ATP from 38 ADP per glucose.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Aerobic organism'
Start a new discussion about 'Aerobic organism'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


An aerobic organism or aerobe is an organism
Organism

In biology, an organism is any life thing . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimulus , reproduction, growth and developmental biology, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole....
 that can survive and grow in an oxygenated environment.

Types

  • Obligate aerobes require oxygen for aerobic cellular respiration. In a process known as cellular respiration
    Cellular respiration

    Cellular respiration is the set of the metabolism reactions and processes that take place in organisms' cell s to convert Energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate , and then release waste products....
    , these organisms use oxygen to oxidize substrates (for example sugar
    Sugar

    Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
    s and fat
    Fat

    Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemistry, fats are generally ester of glycerol and fatty acids....
    s) in order to obtain energy
    Energy

    In physics, energy is a scalar physical quantity that describes the amount of Work_ that can be performed by a force. Energy is an attribute of objects and systems that is subject to a conservation law....
    .
  • Facultative anaerobes
    Facultative anaerobic organism

    A facultative anaerobic organism is an organism, usually a bacterium, that makes Adenosine triphosphate by aerobic respiration if oxygen is present but is also capable of switching to Fermentation ....
     can use oxygen, but also have anaerobic
    Anaerobic organism

    An anaerobic organism is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth and may even die in its presence....
     methods of energy production.
  • Microaerophile
    Microaerophile

    Microaerophilic organisms are a specific type of microorganism that requires oxygen to survive, but requires environments containing lower levels of oxygen than are present in the Earth's atmosphere ....
    s     are organisms that may use oxygen, but only at low concentrations.
  • Aerotolerant organisms can survive in the presence of oxygen, but they are anaerobic
    Anaerobic organism

    An anaerobic organism is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth and may even die in its presence....
     because they do not use it as a terminal electron acceptor.


Glucose

A good example would be the oxidation of glucose
Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
 (a monosaccharide
Monosaccharide

Monosaccharides are the most basic unit of carbohydrates. They are the simplest form of sugar and are usually colorless, water-soluble, crystal solids....
) in aerobic respiration.
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + 38 ADP
Adenosine diphosphate

Adenosine diphosphate, abbreviated ADP, is a nucleotide. It is an ester of pyrophosphoric acid with the nucleoside adenosine. ADP consists of the pyrophosphate Functional group, the pentose sugar ribose, and the nucleobase adenine....
 + 38 phosphate ? 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + 38 ATP
Adenosine triphosphate

This article is about the chemical used by cells as an energy carrier. For other uses, see ATP .Adenosine-5'-triphosphate is a multifunctional nucleotide, and plays an important role in cell biology as a coenzyme that is the "molecule unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer....
The energy released in this equation is about 2880 kJ per mol, which is conserved in regenerating 38 ATP from 38 ADP per glucose. This is a factor of 19 times more energy per sugar molecule than the typical anaerobic reaction generates. Eukaryotic organisms (everything but bacteria) only get a net gain of 36 ATP regenerated from ADP in this process, due to an additional membrane that must be crossed by active transport.

Notice that oxygen is used during the oxidation of glucose and water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 is produced.

This equation is a summary of what actually happens in three series of biochemical reactions: glycolysis
Glycolysis

Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose, C6H12O6, into pyruvate, C3H5O3-....
, the Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation
Oxidative phosphorylation

Oxidative phosphorylation is a metabolic pathway that uses energy released by the redox of nutrients to produce adenosine triphosphate . Although the many forms of life on earth use a range of different nutrients, almost all carry out oxidative phosphorylation to produce ATP, the molecule that supplies energy to metabolism....
.

Diversity

Almost all animal
Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
s, most fungi
Fungus

A fungus is a Eukaryote organism that is a member of the Kingdom Fungi . The fungi are a monophyletic group, also called the Eumycota , that is phylogeny distinct from the morphologically similar slime molds and water molds ....
, and several bacteria are obligate aerobes. Most anaerobic organism
Anaerobic organism

An anaerobic organism is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth and may even die in its presence....
s are bacteria. Being an obligate aerobe - although advantageous from the energetical point of view, also means obligatory exposure to high levels of oxidative stress
Oxidative stress

Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or easily repair the resulting damage....
.

Yeast
Yeast

Yeasts are eukaryote microorganisms classified in the Kingdom fungus, with about 1,500 species currently described; they dominate fungal diversity in the oceans....
 is an example of a facultative aerobe. Individual human cells are also facultative aerobes: they switch to lactic acid
Lactic acid

Lactic acid , also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemistry processes. It was first isolated in 1780 by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and is a carboxylic acid with a chemical formula of C3H6O3....
 fermentation
Fermentation (biochemistry)

Fermentation is the process of deriving energy from the Redox of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an Endogeny electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound....
 if oxygen is not available. However, for the whole organism this cannot be sustained for long, and humans are therefore obligate aerobes.

Examples of Obligate Aerobic Bacteria: Nocardia
Nocardia

Nocardia is a genus of weakly-staining Gram-positive, catalase, rod-shaped bacteria. It has total 85 species. Some species are non pathogenic; some species are pathogenic ....
 (Gram-positive
Gram-positive

Gram-positive Bacteria are those that are stained dark blue or violet by Gram staining. This is in contrast to Gram-negative bacteria, which cannot retain the crystal violet stain, instead taking up the counterstain and appearing red or pink....
), Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common bacterium which can cause disease in animals and humans. It is found in soil, water, and most man-made environments throughout the world....
 (Gram-negative
Gram-negative

Gram-negative bacteria are those bacteria that do not retain crystal violet dye in the Gram staining protocol. In a Gram stain test, a counterstain is added after the crystal violet, coloring all Gram-negative bacteria with a red or pink color....
), Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogenic bacterial species in the genus Mycobacterium and the causative agent of most cases of tuberculosis....
 (acid-fast
Acid-fast

Acid-fastness is a physical property of some bacterium referring to their resistance to decolorization by acids during staining procedures.Acid-fast organisms are difficult to characterize using standard microbiological techniques , though they can be stained using concentrated dyes, particularly when the staining process is combined with...
), and Bacillus
Bacillus

Bacillus is a genus of rod-shaped bacterium and a member of the division Firmicutes. Bacillus species are either obligate or facultative aerobes, and test positive for the enzyme catalase....
 (Gram-positive).

See also

  • Aerobic digestion
  • Anaerobic digestion
    Anaerobic digestion

    Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. It is widely used to treat wastewater sludges and biodegradable waste because it provides volume and mass reduction of the input material....
  • Facultative anaerobic organism
    Facultative anaerobic organism

    A facultative anaerobic organism is an organism, usually a bacterium, that makes Adenosine triphosphate by aerobic respiration if oxygen is present but is also capable of switching to Fermentation ....
  • Fermentation (biochemistry)
    Fermentation (biochemistry)

    Fermentation is the process of deriving energy from the Redox of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an Endogeny electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound....
  • Microaerophile
    Microaerophile

    Microaerophilic organisms are a specific type of microorganism that requires oxygen to survive, but requires environments containing lower levels of oxygen than are present in the Earth's atmosphere ....