Mitochondria turn glucose into ATP, the energy currency every cell spends to do work.
Mitochondria turn glucose into ATP, the energy currency every cell spends to do work.
Glycolysis splits glucose in the cytoplasm. The Krebs cycle loads electron carriers. The electron transport chain makes most of the ATP.
Oxygen is the final electron acceptor. Without it the chain backs up and ATP output collapses to the small anaerobic yield.
With oxygen one glucose gives about 30 to 32 ATP; without it, only the 2 from glycolysis.