Degree
Master of Science
Program
Biology
Supervisor
Dr. Louise Milligan
Abstract
Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) reduce white muscle glycogen (~14 µmol glucosyl units/g wet tissue) in response to exhaustive exercise. This reduction results in a small increase in muscle lactate (~9 µmol/g wet tissue) and a larger increase in muscle ethanol (~30 µmol/g wet tissue). Tissue-specific and whole-body measures of glycogen, ethanol and lactate confirm that ethanol is the major “anaerobic” glycolytic end-product. Additionally, while peak muscle and blood ethanol levels occur immediately post-exercise, the excretion of ethanol to the environment is delayed, occurring over a 30-minute period beginning ~105 minutes following exercise. As the total amount of ethanol synthesized in the white muscle does not account for that synthesized in the whole-body, it may be that the red muscle is also involved. The clearance and excretion of ethanol to the environment following exercise represents ~100% of the whole-body glycolytic pool used during exercise and therefore represents a significant carbon cost to the muscle’s glycolytic pool.
Recommended Citation
Bradford, Simon A., "The Cost of Ethanol Synthesis During Recovery from Exhaustive Exercise in Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1060.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1060
Included in
Biology Commons, Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Commons, Exercise Physiology Commons
