Compared with the anucleated mammalian erythrocytes, which rely on glycolysis for most of their energy production, the nucleated erythrocytes of teleost fish are highly aerobic (Ferguson and Boutilier, 1988; Ferguson et al. 1989; Eddy, 1977).
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) erythrocytes possess significant amounts of enzymes associated with glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (Bachand and Leray, 1975; Walsh et al. 1990; Ferguson and Storey, 1991) and are able to oxidize glucose. However, the erythrocytes of several fish, including rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri Richardson; Tse and Young, 1990), brown trout (Salmo trutta;Bolis et al. 1971) and carp (Cyprinus carpio;Tiihonen and Nikinmaa, 1991) are essentially impermeable to glucose. Thus, other substrates utilized via the TCA cycle may be important in energy metabolism. The TCA cycle can, in addition to glucose,...
