LAUSR

Metabolism is the series of chemical reactions utilized by organisms to create energy to drive physiological and cellular functions. Understanding the metabolism of ectothermic organisms has been an area of interest that is widely understudied with limited model organisms. Using the Gromphadorhina portentosa (Giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroach) as a model organism, ectothermic metabolism was measured by respirometry using a closed animal chamber and iWorx gas analyzer. The metabolic rate was calculated as the Respiratory Exchange Ratio (RER), which is the ratio of carbon dioxide produced to oxygen consumed. We investigated whether changes in metabolism were allometric functions dependent on the size of cockroaches. Experiments were conducted to study the effects of high temperatures, exercise and diet on the metabolic rate of G. portentosa compared to control. Preliminary data showed significant changes in RER under several of these experimental conditions. We have also investigated whether the environmental conditions produced sex- and age-specific changes in RER. Lastly, we utilized biochemical assays to determine why several experimental groups exhibit RERs >1.0. Preliminary results show glucose and triglyceride levels in hemolymph accommodate metabolic flexibility requirements in the above experimental conditions. This work represents the most comprehensive evaluation of this ectotherm and adds to our understanding of one of the largest insects. APU This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.