What kind of fermentation occurs in muscle cells

There are two types of fermentation, alcoholic fermentation and lactic acid fermentation. Our cells can only perform lactic acid fermentation; however, we make use of both types of fermentation using other organisms.

The two pyruvate molecules are shown in this diagram come from the splitting of glucose through glycolysis. This process also produces 2 molecules of ATP. Continued breakdown of pyruvate produces acetaldehyde, carbon dioxide, and eventually ethanol. Yeast in bread dough also uses alcoholic fermentation for energy and produces carbon dioxide gas as a waste product.

The carbon dioxide that is released causes bubbles in the dough and explains why the dough rises. The holes were formed by bubbles of carbon dioxide gas.

Lactic acid fermentation is carried out by certain bacteria, including the bacteria in yogurt. It is also carried out by your muscle cells when you work them hard and fast. Again, two pyruvate and two ATP molecules result from glycolysis. Reduction of pyruvate using the electrons carried by NADH produces lactate i.

While this is similar to alcoholic fermentation, there is no carbon dioxide produced in this process. Did you ever run a race, lift heavy weights, or participate in some other intense activity and notice that your muscles start to feel a burning sensation? This may occur when your muscle cells use lactic acid fermentation to provide ATP for energy.

The buildup of lactic acid in the muscles causes the feeling of burning. The painful sensation is useful if it gets you to stop overworking your muscles and allow them a recovery period during which cells can eliminate the lactic acid. With oxygen, organisms can use aerobic cellular respiration to produce up to 36 molecules of ATP from just one molecule of glucose. Without oxygen, some human cells must use fermentation to produce ATP, and this process produces only two molecules of ATP per molecule of glucose.

Although fermentation produces less ATP, it has the advantage of doing so very quickly. It allows your muscles, for example, to get the energy they need for short bursts of intense activity. Aerobic cellular respiration, in contrast, produces ATP more slowly. What is the biological difference between light meat and dark meat? Or between the two types of runners? Would you believe it has something to do with muscle color?

Muscle color reflects its specialization for aerobic or anaerobic metabolism. Although humans are obligate aerobes an organism which requires oxygen for cellular respiration , our muscle cells have not given up on ancient pathways which allow them to keep producing ATP quickly when oxygen runs low.

The difference is more pronounced in chickens and grouse see figure below , which stand around all day on their legs. For long periods of time, they carry out aerobic respiration in their "specialized-for-endurance" red muscles. If you are familiar with grouse, you know that these birds "flush" with great speed over short distances. Such "sprinting" flight depends on anaerobic respiration in the white cells of breast and wing muscle, allowing rapid production of ATP in low oxygen situations.

No human muscle is all red or all white, but chances are, if you excel at sprinting short distances or at a sport such as weight lifting, you have more white glycolytic fibers in your leg muscles, allowing anaerobic respiration.

If you run marathons, you probably have more red oxidative fibers, performing aerobic respiration. National 5 Subjects National 5 Subjects up. Oxygen required? Location in cell. Stage 1 in cytoplasm and stage 2 in mitochondria. Breakdown of glucose.

Energy produced. End products: animal cells. Lactate lactic acid.