what is the specific role of oxygen in oxidative respiration
Asker's rating. 1  Oxygen's role in aerobic respiration is to serve as the final electron acceptor in the electron transport system. Glucose can be broken down in the absence of oxygen--and is, in many cells. The process of glycolysis does not require oxygen, which is why it can proceed in anaerobic bacteria or in muscle cells under oxygen-less conditions, for example.