6533b831fe1ef96bd12982c7
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Oxygen Availability, Energy Metabolism, and Metabolic Rate in Invertebrates and Vertebrates
G. Wegenersubject
chemistry.chemical_classificationBiochemistrychemistryReducing agentOxidizing agentEnergy metabolismMetabolic ratechemistry.chemical_elementElectron acceptorBiologyPhotosynthesisOxygenInvertebratedescription
It has often been emphasized that primitive life originated in an environment devoid of oxygen. The first eukaryotic cells, however, appeared some 1.4 billion years ago when the earth’s atmosphere had already turned from a mildly reducing to an oxidizing one by the photosynthetic action of prokaryotes that used H20 as reducing agent (see Harold 1986, for review). The presence of free oxygen obviously was a major force shaping the evolution of eukaryotic cells. As a consequence all animals are primarily aerobes, using respiratory chains with oxygen as electron acceptor (oxidant) and membrane-bound ATP synthases for the production of ATP.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-01-01 |