A Plant Process: Cellular Respiration

Cellular respiration, also referred to as oxidative metabolism, is a set of metabolic processes and reactions executed within the cell of an organism in order to convert the biochemical energy, derived from the nutrients, to adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is a nucleotide which is the major source of energy for cellular reactions. The process revolves around catabolic reactions which facilitate oxidation of one molecule, with the reduction of the other. There are two types of cellular respiration, aerobic cellular respiration and anaerobic cellular respiration. Both, animals as well as plants, execute cellular respiration to produce energy. They use nutrients such as glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids to produce the energy. The common oxidizing agent in this process is molecular oxygen.