How Does Temperature Affect The Rate Of Anaerobic Respiration In Yeast

The Effect of Temperature on the Amount of Oxygen Consumed During Cellular Respiration of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Purpose:

To determine the temperature at which baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) respires most efficiently in order to produce the best baked goods as possible when utilizing yeast.

Research Question:

How does temperature affect amount of oxygen used during cellular respiration of yeasts?

Introduction:

Respiration is process of releasing energy from organic compounds in order to produce energy. Saccharomyces cerevisiae can use both anaerobic respiration which is a type of respiration that occurs without using oxygen, or aerobic respiration which occurs by the use of oxygen. During anaerobic respiration, glucose is transformed in the products of ethanol and carbon dioxide. However, during aerobic respiration saccharomyces cerevisiae uses glucose and oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water. Saccharomyces cerevisiae,commonly used in the dough of baked goods, goes through both aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Typically, during the baking process yeast performs aerobic respiration first. When the oxygen in the dough is completely used,the process of anaerobic respiration,is initiated. The initiation of anaerobic respiration in yeast is seen as the dough rising. During this experiment saccharomyces cerevisiae will be performing the initial process of aerobic respiration, to determine at what temperature baker’s yeast respires most efficiently.