(Redirected from Facultative anaerobe)A 'facultative anaerobic organism' is an
organism, usually a
bacterium, that makes
ATP by
aerobic respiration if
oxygen is present but is also capable of switching to
fermentation. In contrast,
obligate anaerobes die in presence of oxygen.
Some examples of Facultative anaerobic bacteria are the
Staphylococci (
Gram positive),
Corynebacterium (
Gram positive), and
Listeria (Gram positive). Organisms in the
Kingdom Fungi can also be facultative anaerobic, such as
yeasts.
Factors influencing the switch are the concentrations of oxygen and fermentable material in the environment. In
brewer's yeast, the Pasteur shift is the observed cessation of oxygen consumption when fermentable sugar is supplied. In a growing culture, the energy "economics" disfavors respiration due to the "overhead cost" of producing the apparatus, as long as sufficient fermentable substrate is available, even though the energy output per mole of fermented material is far less than from respiration's complete oxidation of the same substrate.
See also
★
Aerobic respiration
★
Anaerobic respiration
External links
★
Facultative Anaerobic Bacteria
★
Obligate Anaerobic Bacteria
★
Anaerobic Bacteria and Anaerobic Bacteria in the decomposition (stabilization) of organic matter.