If you still don't understand, the National Library of Medicine has a detailed (albeit complicated) article on anaerobes. This is an extremely simplified explanation (I left out the chemical equations and molecules required for the process as they're not particularly well-known), but I hope this helps! Obligate anaerobes do not have these detoxifiers, and as a result, the toxic molecules interfere with cellular processes. So why can aerobes survive? They have in them specific molecules that react with the dangerous molecules to make something much less dangerous (these detoxifying molecules are superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase). This extreme reactivity basically tears the cell apart if these new molecules and ions are not dealt with. To make a long complicated process short (and simplified), there are certain oxygen products that are produced by processes in the cell that are extremely reactive. Obligate anaerobes have not developed these defenses. A more electronegative element wouldn't necessarily have any effect on the rate of electron flow down the ETC and therefore wouldn't affect the rate of ATP production.īasically, for aerobic organisms to survive in oxygen, they require "defenses". First, students observe respiration in germinating seeds by. P.S remember oxygen is not producing the ATP itself it is merely keeping the transport chain unblocked so the electrons keep flowing. The following demonstrations place aerobic cell respiration and fermentation firmly in grasp. Please bear in mind these are just my thoughts. Finally fluoride is known to be damaging to the body above certain concentrations affecting things like the nervous system and hormone secretion as well as protein synthesis. Also if fluorine were used as the terminal electron acceptor it would form HF, hydrofluoric acid in solution which is hard for the cells to deal with and would affect pH in the cytosol affecting enzyme function whereas oxygen just forms water. In addition fluorine is very reactive so would not exist by itself for very long. Oxygen makes up 21% of our atmosphere and is stable in both air and water whereas fluorine is much rarer. The first is simply to do with availability. There are a few reasons that spring to mind.
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