How do cells deal with breaking glucose down when they are i

How do cells deal with breaking glucose down when they are in a low oxygen environment? Give an example and comment on the energetic output of this process.

Solution

The condition of low oxygen state is called hypoxia and they are two types moderate and chronic.

In moderate condition oxygen is low but not too low at this condition normal glycolysis + Krebs takes place.

But when oxygen is too low the end product of glycolysis pyruvate enters to lactate pathway. In this pathway at the sixth step of glycolysis glyceraldehyde 3 phosphate dehydrogenase NADH not formed so only 2 ATP formed.

                        2 ATP                          no ATP

Glucose ------------------- pyruvate ------------------ lactate

The most common example of this is lactate formation in muscle during oxygen or in mass of tumour. Here the cells do not use any oxygen molecule.