Aerobic respiration

Aerobic respiration is cellular energy metabolism in which oxygen accepts electrons at the end of an electron transport chain. It uses the resulting proton gradient to produce ATP, with carbon dioxide and water as common end products.

Glycolysis: A metabolic pathway that converts glucose into pyruvate while producing ATP and NADH. It begins glucose breakdown and supplies pyruvate and electron carriers for respiration.
Glucose: A six-carbon sugar that serves as a major fuel for cellular metabolism. Its carbon and chemical energy are commonly oxidized during aerobic respiration.
Mitochondrion: A eukaryotic organelle whose inner membrane houses the respiratory chain and ATP synthase. It is the principal site of aerobic respiration in eukaryotic cells.
Anaerobic respiration: Cellular respiration that uses an electron acceptor other than oxygen at the end of its electron transport chain. It uses respiratory electron transport but ends with a different acceptor.
Reactive oxygen species: Chemically reactive oxygen-containing molecules formed in cells, including superoxide and hydrogen peroxide. Electron leakage from respiratory processes can generate these molecules.
Pyruvate oxidation: The conversion of pyruvate into acetyl-CoA, producing carbon dioxide and NADH. It links glycolysis to the citric acid cycle in glucose oxidation.
Acetyl-CoA: A molecule that carries a two-carbon acetyl group into metabolic pathways, including the citric acid cycle. It delivers carbon derived from fuels to the cycle that releases respiratory electrons.
Bacterial respiration: Energy metabolism in bacteria that uses membrane-based electron transport to generate a proton gradient. Bacteria perform aerobic respiration across the plasma membrane rather than in mitochondria.
Fermentation: Metabolic pathways that regenerate NAD⁺ by transferring electrons to organic molecules without an electron transport chain. It supports ATP production without oxygen-dependent terminal electron transfer.
Oxidative stress: Cellular damage or signaling disruption caused when oxidants exceed antioxidant defenses. It can result when reactive oxygen species from metabolism overwhelm cellular defenses.

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