Yeast, like humans, use oxygen as their final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain (ETC).
You
discover a new strain of yeast that is identical to other yeast except it can efficiently generate a proton
gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane without using the ETC or oxygen. All other aspects of
metabolism remain the same.
You grow this new strain of yeast in glucose in an anaerobic environment (no oxygen). You add an equal
amount of normal yeast to the same environment. You find that the new yeast strain rapidly out competes
the normal yeast.
Part 1: What strategy is the normal yeast using to synthesize ATP in this anaerobic environment? (1 or 2
words) Glycolysis and/or Fermentation (+3)
Part 2: Why is the new yeast strain likely outcompeting the normal yeast strain in this environment?
Your answer should include a discussion of the relative efficiency of metabolism in these two strains (2-3
sentences).
The new strain has more efficient metabolism (+2). The new strain can continue to use cellular
respiration from glucose to generate ATP in the anaerobic environment, while the normal strain can only
use glycolysis (+1). Since a lot more ATP can be synthesized per glucose molecule using cell
respiration compared to glycolysis, this new yeast strain will be able to grow faster with the same
amount of glucose (+1)