Although the aerobic process of respiration takes place only in the presence of oxygen, the role of oxygen is limited to the terminal stage of the process. Yet, the presence of oxygen is vital and it can be justified as
O2 drives the whole process by removing hydrogen from the system.
O2 is important for removing electrons from the system
O2 drives electrochemical gradient in the ETS
O2 is vital for Krebs cycle
Although the aerobic process of respiration takes place only in the presence of oxygen, the role of oxygen is limited to the terminal stage of the process. Yet, the presence of oxygen is vital, since it drives the whole process by removing hydrogen from the system.