A young animal has never had much energy. He is brought to a veterinarian for he

Question

A young animal has never had much energy. He is brought to a veterinarian for help and is sent to the animal hospital for some tests. There they discover his mitochondria can use only fatty acids and amino acids for respiration, and his cells produce more lactate than normal. Of the following, which is the best explanation of his condition?
A. His cells have a defective electron transport chain, so glucose goes to lactate instead of to acetyl CoA.
B. His cells contain something that inhibits oxygen use in his mitochondria.
C. His mitochondria lack the transport protein that moves pyruvate across the outer mitochondrial membrane.
D. His cells cannot move NADH from glycolysis into the mitochondria.
E. His cells lack the enzyme in glycolysis that forms pyruvate.

Explanation / Answer

Answer: B ===== Explanation: In the presence of oxygen, an animal undergoes aerobic respiration producing an abundance of ATP molecules as a result. However, if there is no oxygen, the animal must resort to anaerobic respiration as a backup. This process may work without oxygen but will produce much less ATP molecules as a result. Also, it will also produce lactate as a byproduct (which is toxic). Lactic buildup in muscles will cause fatigue.

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