Lactate Dehydrogenase and Citrate Synthase activity in cardiac and skeletal muscle of lowland and highland tinamous

Examensarbete 16 hp Lactate Dehydrogenase and Citrate Synthase activity in cardiac and skeletal muscle of lowland and highland tinamous Naomi Aira Lactate Dehydrogenase and Citrate Synthase activity in cardiac and skeletal muscle of lowland and highland tinamous. Sammanfattning/Abstract: Tinamous (Tinamidae) have the smallest heart in relation to body mass compared to any other flying bird today (Bishop 1997). This means that heart size is likely to restrict aerobic metabolism. Tinamous inhabit areas from sea level to 4800 m a.s.l., which means that the high altitude living species, Nothoprocta ornata (NO), is exposed to hypoxia. In this study the activity of the two metabolic enzymes Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) and Citrate Synthase (CS) was measured and the ratio between the enzyme activities calculated to examine if the small heart of the tinamous affects their aerobic/anaerobic metabolism. The activity of the two enzymes was measured in the heart and the gastrocnemius muscle in the three species Nothoprocta ornata (NO), Nothoprocta perdicaria (NP) and Gallus gallus (GG). CS activity was significantly higher in the heart compared to the skeletal muscle and LDH activity was significant higher in the skeletal muscle than in the heart in all three species. The LDH/CS ratio was significantly higher in NO's skeletal muscle than in chickens but there was no significant difference between species in the heart. The higher ratio in NO´s muscle could be a sign of a higher anaerobic metabolism that is used in the muscles to compensate for the small heart NO have. In conclusion, the Tinamous' small heart can result in changed activities of LDH and CS in the heart and gastrocnemius muscle.