Assimilation of dissolved glucose from sea water by the sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax and the sea bream Sparus aurata

Larvae of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and sea bream (Sparus aurata) were transferred to normal or glucose-enriched sea water immediately after mouth opening to assess their ability to absorb and assimilate glucose at the beginning of the larval period. Assimilation was monitored by histological and cytochemical analysis of the liver. The results showed that (1) the larvae of both species regularly ingested water, (2) glucose absorption resulted in glycogen accumulation in the hepatocytes (this was more marked in sea bass than in sea bream), and (3) glucose delayed the pathological effects of fasting. Consideration of metabolic derivatives indicates that hepatic glycogen probably arises from neoglucogenesis.