Metabolism of pyruvate in testes of fish and rabbits with particular reference to P-nitrophenol and 2,4-dinitrophenol

Abstract 1. 1. In the testes of fish and rabbits pyruvate undergoes reduction to lactate, an oxidative decarboxylation, and a fixation with carbon dioxide 2. 2. The oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate, and the CO 2 -fixation with pyruvate, may play a role in regulating the metabolism in the testis. 3. 3. In the cod testicular tissue all carbons of pyruvate could incorporate into lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. 4. 4. The testicular tissue of the two species responded differently to nitrophenols at at a concentration of 10 −4 M, whereas at a higher concentration (2–4 × 10 −4 M) the oxidative metabolism was suppressed in the two species.