Anaerobic respiration

Anaerobic respiration is energy-yielding electron transport in which a cell uses a terminal electron acceptor other than oxygen. Its acceptors can include nitrate, sulfate, and carbon dioxide.

Electron transport chain: A series of membrane-associated carriers that transfer electrons and help generate an ion gradient. Anaerobic respiration uses this machinery with a non-oxygen terminal acceptor.
Redox reaction: A chemical reaction in which electrons move from an electron donor to an electron acceptor. Respiration conserves energy through a sequence of redox reactions.
Nitrogen cycle: The transformations and movement of nitrogen among organisms, soils, waters, and the atmosphere. Denitrifying respiration returns biologically available nitrogen to the atmosphere.
Aerobic respiration: Respiration that uses oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor in an electron transport chain. It differs in its terminal acceptor and often yields more energy per substrate.
Energy conservation in anaerobic respiration: The biochemical mechanisms by which cells conserve energy during respiration with non-oxygen acceptors. Different acceptors and chains produce distinct energy yields that remain under investigation.
Oxidative phosphorylation: ATP production powered by electron transport and a proton gradient across a membrane. Many anaerobic respiratory pathways use this process to make ATP.
Electron donor: A substance that gives up electrons in a chemical reaction. Respiratory pathways begin by extracting electrons from a donor.
Sulfur cycle: The movement and transformation of sulfur among organisms, rocks, water, and the atmosphere. Sulfate-respiring microbes convert sulfate into sulfide in anoxic environments.
Fermentation: An energy-yielding process that regenerates electron carriers by transferring electrons to organic molecules without an external respiratory acceptor. It does not use an electron transport chain with an external terminal acceptor.
Microbial ecology: The study of interactions among microorganisms and between microbes and their environments. Anaerobic respiratory pathways help determine which microbes thrive in oxygen-poor habitats.

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