Question

what is the difference between anaerobic and erobic glycolysis? And does the breaking down of glucose involve both steps or either steps?
And what is the whole point of glycolysis? Is it to release ATP which is a form of energy?

Answer 1

When energy demands increase, glucose can be released from these intracellular storage polymers and used to produce ATP either aerobically or anaerobically. Anaerobic is a word which literally means without oxygen. Anaerobic niches produce ATP and are exploited industrially as sources of ethanol, lactic acid and other commercially useful product.
Most of the anaerobic M.O are dependent on the process of glycolysis.

Fermentation is a general term for the anaerobic degradation of glucose or other organic nutrients to obtain energy, conserved as ATP,pyruvate is converted under hypoxic or anaerobic conditions into ethanol and CO2, a process called ethanol (alcohol) fermentation

Thus pyruvate which is produced at end of glycolysis has 3 fates
1)entry to TCA.
2)To ethanol formation (Under hypoxic or anaerobic condition).
3)To form lactate (Under anaerobic condition).

The above three fates clearly suggest that it is not always associated with energy production. especially the last one, here NADH is recycled to yield more NAD+.

Answer 2

hmmm this is still very hard to understand..

Firstly, glucose breaks down into water and carbon dioxide with the presence of oxygen, isn't that glycosis already?

I just read my text and my understanding now is that firstly we need anerobic glycosis to get substance which can be absorbed my the mitochonria to produce ATP which is energy, which is aerobic glycosis?

HMM

Answer 3

and just to add, is the substance produced in anerobic, pyruvic acid?

Answer 4

hey seriously i still dont quite get it, it would be great if things can be explained more simply..

Answer 5

After glycolysis, pyruvate is made. Basically the steps of breaking down of glucose in anaerobic and aerobic glycolysis is the same up to pyruvate level. As @helixcode said, there are 3 possibles fate for pyruvate. In aerobic conditions, pyruvate enters Krebs cycle after it combines with coenzyme A. In aenaerobic conditions, pyruvate is converted to either ethanol (this process is alcoholic ferementation) or lactate (this is lactic acid fermentation).

Why need glycolysis? Glycolysis is oxygen-independent. Glycolysis gives you 2 net ATPs per glucose. If cells are run out of oxygen, pyruvate can't enter Krebs cycle so the only way to get ATP is from glycolysis.

I hope this helps