Glucose breakdown enables the body muscles to work during intensive exercise session. Further, the same allows yeast fermentation into beer. Both processes are possible due to existence of an alternative glucose breakdown mechanism that occurs in the absence of oxygen (anaerobic), through a process known as fermentation. The paper compares and contrasts between the two fermentation processes.
Lactic acid fermentation occurs in the body muscle cell when there is little oxygen for aerobic respiration to occur that is when one engages in intensive exercise for a long period. Lactic acid fermentation takes place in the cytosol through two main stages: glycolysis and fermentation (Erickson, Fayet, Kakumanu & Davis, 2004). On the contrary, alcohol fermentation occurs in yeast and other bacterial types. Similar to lactic acid fermentation, it is a two-step process that occurs in the cytosol anaerobically (oxygen non-present). However, the two pyruvate molecules produced from the glycolysis phase are converted into ethanol and carbon dioxide during fermentation (Zamora, 2009).
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Some similarities are observed between the two fermentation processes: they are catabolic, occur in cytosol, do not require oxygen, glucose molecules are broken down into two pyruvate molecules, ATP molecules are produced, the processes occur in two steps where energy is expelled. However, major differences were also observed. In terms of location of occurrence, lactic acid happens in muscle cell and lactobacillus spps while alcoholic fermentation happens in yeast. Regarding the products, alcoholic fermentation produces ethanol and carbon dioxide while lactic acid fermentation produces lactic acid. In lactic acid fermentation the enzymes utilized are lactate dehydrogenase and pyruvate decarboxylase while in alcoholic fermentation the enzymes utilized are pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase. Last, lactic fermentation is employed in manufacture of cheese and yogurt while alcoholic fermentation is used in production of vinegar, alcoholic products and bakery.
Fermentation test can be used to differentiate pathogenic and non-pathogenic E. coli through serotyping. The exercise leads to isolation of the two thus distinguishing between the two E.coli. Further, fermentation test allows pathogenicity and virulence detection which helps to differentiate between the two. Occurrence of lactose fermentation occasioned by change in pH leads to differentiation between pathogenic and non-pathogenic E.coli
References
Erickson, L. E., Fayet, E., Kakumanu, B. K., & Davis, L. C. (2004). Lactic Acid Fermentation. Carcass Disposal: A Comprehensive Review , 1-9.
Zamora, F. (2009). Biochemistry of alcoholic fermentation. In Wine chemistry and biochemistry (pp. 3-26). Springer, New York, NY.
