• absorbs glucose released from cellulose by cellulolytic organisms and oxidises it to pyruvate using NAD as the oxidising agent.
• generates ATP by substrate level phosphorylation as occurs in the erythrocyte.
• produces propionate by further enzyme action in a sequence that also  regenerates oxidised NAD and so helps ensure the bacteria maintain a high ratio of NAD to NADH .
• Lactate can also be taken up from the growth environment and this further ensures high production of the oxidizing agent needed for NAD regeneration.

The fermentation pattern of Megasphaera exhibits the following features:

1. pyruvate is used as an oxidising agent, performing the functions of electron acceptor to enable glycolysis to coninue and so to allow continued ATP generation by substrate level phosphorylation.
2. the two reactions labelled 2 on the previous diagram are linked by the cycling of acetyl CoA and acetate. This saves on the use of ATP and enables further dumping of reducing equivalents to generate propionate as the waste end product organic acid.