Fermentation
energy conservation depends on substrate level phosphorylation
What are the two major challenges of fermentation?
Energy rich compounds
contains energy rich phosphate bonds or CoA
What do energy rich compounds allow
Redox Balance
balancing number of atoms (reactants and products)
How do protons get reduced to H2 during fermentation
Alcoholic fermentation
hexose = ethanol + CO2
Homolactic fermentation
hexose = lactate + 2H
Heterolactic fermentation
hexose = lactate + ethanol + H + CO2
Mechanism of homofermmentative lactic acid bacteria
Glucose = 2 lactate + 2H+
- delta G: -196kJ
- yields: 2 ATP
Mechanism of heterofermmentative lactic acid bacteria
Glucose = 2 lactate + ethanol + CO2 + H+
- delta G: -216 kJ
- yields: 1 ATP
Mechanism of mixed acid fermentation
2 pyruvate + NADH = 2 CO2 + butanediol
Mechanism of sugar fermentation by Clostridium
1.5 Glucose + H2O = acetate + butyrate + 3 CO2 + 4H2 + H+
- delta G: -250 kJ
- yields: 3/4 ATP/glucose
Obligate anaerobes
cant tolerate 02, produce H2 from fermentation
Clostridium
Mechanism of Stickland Reaction
Alanine + 2 glycine + 2H2O = 3 acetate + CO2 + 3 NH4+
- delta G: -186kJ
- yields: 3 ATP
Mechanism of energy converting Hydrogenase
Glucose + 2 H2O = 2 acetate + 2CO2 + 4H2 + 2H+
- delta G: -216 kJ
- yields: 4 ATP
Secondary Fermentations
Uses primary fermentations as substrates
Propionibacterium
Can’t produce lactic acid by itself, uses it from fermentation product of lactic acid bacteria
Mechanism of Succinate Fermentation
Syntropy
2 different microbes cooperate to perform metabolic reaction (most secondary fermentations)
What are the two types of electron transfer?
Interspecies electron transfer
how microbes undergo syntropy. 1 species usually electron donor, the other, electron acceptor
Example of interspecies H2 transfer?
Ethanol fermentation carried out by syntroph has positive free energy so it cant grow in pure culutres