Anaerobic respiration

Some organisms can still carry out oxidation without using oxygen gas from the atmosphere as the final electron acceptor.

Instead, in anaerobic respiration, they use other molecules, often ions like nitrate or nitrite.

Nitrate reduction is a common example and should connect you back to lab, where we did nitrate reduction testing in a virtual lab to detect this type of anaerobic respiration.

Organisms like E. coli and other facultative anaerobes commonly use this pathway.

Nitrate and nitrite are ions that contain both nitrogen and oxygen.