PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Winwood-Smith, Hugh S.
AU  - White, Craig R.
AU  - Franklin, Craig E.
TI  - Flight activity and glycogen depletion on a low-carbohydrate diet
AID  - 10.1242/jeb.228379
DP  - 2020 Jul 15
TA  - The Journal of Experimental Biology
PG  - jeb228379
VI  - 223
IP  - 14
4099  - http://jeb.biologists.org/content/223/14/jeb228379.short
4100  - http://jeb.biologists.org/content/223/14/jeb228379.full
SO  - J. Exp. Biol.2020 Jul 15; 223
AB  - Glycogen is a critical store for locomotion. Depleted glycogen stores are associated with increased fatigue during exercise. The reduced effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets for weight loss over longer time periods may arise because such diets reduce glycogen stores and thereby energy expenditure via physical activity. To explore the effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on activity and glycogen utilisation, we fed adult Drosophila melanogaster a standard or low-carbohydrate diet for 9 days and measured patterns of flight activity and rates of glycogen depletion. We hypothesised that flight activity and rates of glycogen depletion would be reduced on a low-carbohydrate diet. Flight activity was elevated in the low-carbohydrate group but glycogen depletion rates were unchanged. We conclude that increased activity is probably a foraging response to carbohydrate deficiency and speculate that the previously demonstrated metabolic depression that occurs on a low-carbohydrate diet in this species may allow for increased flight activity without increased glycogen depletion.