3. Fermentation is a much less efficient way to make ATP than aerobic cellular respiration. This being the case, why do you think the fermenters have not been driven to extinction by competition with aerobes?

Question

3.	Fermentation is a much less efficient way to make ATP than aerobic cellular respiration. This being the case, why do you think the fermenters have not been driven to extinction by competition with aerobes?

anonymous · Answer

Strict aerobes need oxygen to survive and will die in low oxygen environments. Facultative anaerobes can survive in anaerobic conditions, but having the cellular machinery capable of aerobic metabolism is energetically expensive. Therefore, in anaerobic conditions, strict anaerobes (fermenters) out-compete facultative anaerobes and prosper rather than face extinction.