Respiration And Its Types

We breathe normally with the help of oxygen, but did you know there are few organisms that can breathe without oxygen? Isn’t it intriguing? Let us more about types of respiration.

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Respiration

All living organisms need the energy to perform various activities and to maintain life. This energy is obtained from food by a process called respiration. In animals, cells produce chemical energy from degradation of the organic compound and in other plant decomposed food from photosynthesis process.

Thus Respiration is an important biochemical reaction process of oxidation by which food materials are oxidized to produce carbon dioxide, water, and energy.

Browse more Topics under Respiration In Organism

• Breathing
• Human Respiration
• Respiration in Other Animals
• Respiration in Plants

Types of Respiration

There are two types of respiration which we classify on the basis of the presence or absence of oxygen:

Aerobic respiration

The respiration that takes place in the presence of oxygen is called aerobic respiration because it uses ‘air’ which contains oxygen. The aerobic respiration involves utilization of oxygen for the breakdown of chemical bonds in glucose to release energy in high amounts. It is the chief source of energy for plants and animals. Animals and plants that use oxygen for respiration are aerobes. Majority of animals have aerobic respiration.

$${ C }_{ 6 }{ H }_{ 12 }{ O }_{ 6 }+6{ O }_{ 2 }\longrightarrow 6{ CO }_{ 2 }+6{ H }_{ 2 }O+Energy$$

All the organisms that obtain energy by aerobic respiration cannot live without the oxygen. This is because if there is no oxygen, they cannot get energy from the food which they eat. Aerobic respiration produces more energy because a complete breakdown of glucose occurs during respiration by the use of oxygen.

Anaerobic Respiration

The respiration that takes place in the absence of oxygen is anaerobic respiration.  In this process, incomplete oxidation of food material is being and produces carbon dioxide and alcohol. Beside this other organic matter like citric acid, oxalic acid, lactic acid, etc are also produced.

This process is also known as intramolecular Respiration. The anaerobic respiration takes place in organisms like yeast, some bacteria, and parasitic worms. The animals and plants that can survive and obtain energy even in the absence of oxygen are called Anaerobic.

$$Glucose\longrightarrow Alcohol+CO_{ 2 }+Energy$$

Yeast is a single-celled fungus. In yeast, a single cell represents the whole organism. Very low amount of energy is realised in this process. Yeast respires anaerobically and during this process, yeast converts glucose into alcohol. Therefore it is used to make alcohol bread, etc.

Anaerobic respiration produces much less energy because the only partial breakdown of glucose occurs in anaerobic respiration in the absence of oxygen. All the organisms which obtain energy by anaerobic respiration can live without the oxygen.

For example, yeast is an organism which can live without the oxygen of air because it obtains energy by the process of anaerobic respiration. Yeast can survive in the absence of oxygen.

Anaerobic Respiration in Muscles

Human beings normally obtain energy by aerobic respiration. But when we need extra energy, anaerobic respiration can take place in our muscles for a short time. When we do a heavy physical exercise, our muscles need more oxygen. But the supply of oxygen through blood is limited and hence insufficient.

During heavy exercise, Some of our muscles respire anaerobically. The anaerobic respiration by muscles brings about the partial breakdown of glucose to form lactic acid. This lactic acid accumulates in the muscles. The accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles causes muscles cramps.

Yeast are single-celled organisms. They respire anaerobically and yield ethyl alcohol and are used to make wine and beer. They are also used in baking industry.

Aerobic versus Anaerobic Respiration

S.No	Aerobic respiration	Anaerobic respiration
1.	It occurs in the presence of oxygen.	It occurs in the absence of oxygen.
2	Food materials are completely oxidised to release carbon dioxide, water and energy.	Food materials are incompletely oxidised to release alcohol, carbon dioxide and energy.
3.	Sufficient amount of energy is released.	A small amount of energy is released.
4.	It takes places in all organisms.	It Takes place in very few organisms like yeast and in muscles of the human beings.
5.	Enzymes responsible for this process are found in mitochondria.	Enzymes responsible for this process are found in protoplasm.

Similarities Between Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration

	Aerobic respiration	Anaerobic respiration
1	In aerobic respiration, energy is produced by the breakdown of food(like glucose).	In anaerobic respiration, energy is also produced by the breakdown of food (like glucose).
2	Aerobic respiration takes place in the cells of the organism.	Anaerobic respiration also takes place in the cells of the organism

Question For You

Q. In which human part, anaerobic respiration can take place?

Sol: Anaerobic respiration in humans can take place in muscles