赤松毛虫越冬幼虫生化物质变化与抗寒性的关系

昆虫的抗寒性与其体内生化物质的种类、含量密切相关。测定了赤松毛虫(Dendrolimusspectabilis)越冬幼虫体内和血淋巴内抗寒物质含量的变化,结果表明,血淋巴内小分子碳水化合物总量1月份为10月份的3.8倍,其中以葡萄糖、海藻糖和山梨醇增加幅度较大,依次为10月份的10.08倍、2.84倍、7.44倍。3月份有较大幅度的下降,虫体内糖原含量下降了56.5%。越冬期苏氨酸、丝氨酸、谷氨酸、丙氨酸、胱氨酸增加幅度较大,分别比越冬前增加了493.8%、433.7%、474.2%、21.5%和47.1%,甘氨酸、天门冬氨酸、蛋氨酸、亮氨酸、酪氨酸、苯丙氨酸、组氨酸、精氨酸、脯氨酸含量则有较大幅度的降低。越冬幼虫体内脂肪含量下降,蛋白质含量上升。应用蛋白质垂直平板电泳法对糖蛋白进行电泳分析发现糖蛋白含量增加,为越冬前的300%。综合分析认为赤松毛虫越冬幼虫体内抗寒物质系统为小分子碳水化合物类(山梨醇、海藻糖、葡萄糖)-糖蛋白-氨基酸类(丙氨酸、苏氨酸、谷氨酸等)。该系统可随生态条件的改变而变化。     

不同寄主上桃蛀螟越冬幼虫体内生化物质变化与抗寒性研究

为预测不同寄主植物上桃蛀螟Conogethes punctiferalis(Guenée)越冬种群的变化,研究了幼虫期取食玉米、高粱和向日葵的桃蛀螟越冬幼虫体内水分和脂肪及血淋巴小分子糖(醇)与抗寒性的关系。与取食高粱和向日葵相比,取食玉米的桃蛀螟幼虫生长发育更好,越冬幼虫体重、脂肪含量显著高于前二者,降低体内含水量时期显著早,12月上旬为74.0%,而前者为82.3%和84.6%,过冷却点显著低。初冬和初春,3种寄主植物上桃蛀螟越冬幼虫的过冷缺点没有显著差异。然而隆冬季节,玉米上越冬幼虫的过冷缺点最低(-17.74℃),其次是高粱(-14.62℃),向日葵的最高(-11.68℃)。这说明,寄主植物对幼虫的生长发育、越冬物质储备及含水量有显著的影响,从而影响了滞育幼虫的抗寒能力。越冬幼虫血淋巴中小分子糖(醇)主要有海藻糖、甘油、肌醇、葡萄糖、山梨醇、半乳糖和甘露糖等。从初冬到隆冬,幼虫体内甘油含量显著上升,提高了15～101.8倍,而葡萄糖的含量变化则相反,越冬幼虫体内甘油含量变化与其抗寒能力的变化一致,说明甘油是越冬幼虫提高抗寒能力的重要物质,而合成甘油需要葡萄糖。     

松阿扁叶蜂越冬幼虫体内氨基酸含量的测定分析

本文测定了不同时期松阿扁叶蜂Acantholyda posticalis Matsumura越冬幼虫虫体、血淋。巴内氨基酸含量,并对影响幼虫抗寒的氨基酸进行了探讨。对越冬幼虫体内17种氨基酸的研究结果表明,从越冬初期至越冬期,氨基酸种类并没有发生变化,但各种氨基酸含量变化不同,丙氨酸、谷氨酸、脯氨酸、精氨酸和胱氨酸随着温度的下降呈增加趋势。幼虫虫体总氨基酸含量增幅最大的为丙氨酸,比越冬初期增加了28.8%,其次是脯氨酸、酪氨酸、苯丙氨酸,分别比越冬初期增加了9.4%、6.4%和5.4%,其他氨基酸增加不明显;幼虫血淋巴内游离氨基酸中的丙氨酸、胱氨酸和谷氨酸含量分别比越冬初期增加了94.6%、80.2%和19.6%。因此认为体内这些氨基酸含量的变化可能与低温抗寒密切相关。     

红脂大小蠹幼虫和成虫耐寒能力及耐寒物质的研究

为明确红脂大小蠹Dendroctonus valens LeConte的耐寒能力以及主要耐寒物质,对越冬期幼虫和成虫的过冷却点及冰点进行了测定,同时对越冬期及非越冬期幼虫和成虫体内的抗冻保护物质进行了测定.结果表明,越冬期幼虫和成虫的过冷却点差异不显著,分别为-18.34±0.26℃和-18.59±0.63℃,冰点差异显著,分别为-10.17±0.36℃和-15.90±0.70.越冬期幼虫体内脂肪、甘油、海藻糖和山梨醇含量均显著高于非越冬期幼虫,水分、糖原和蛋白质含量差异不显著;越冬期成虫体内糖原、甘油、海藻糖和山梨醇含量均显著高于非越冬期成虫,水分、脂肪和蛋白质含量差异不显著.甘油、海藻糖、山梨醇是红脂大小蠹幼虫和成虫的主要抗冻保护物质,在越冬过程中发挥重要作用;此外,脂肪在红脂大小蠹幼虫越冬过程中也发挥重要作用,糖原在红脂大小蠹成虫越冬过程中发挥重要作用.     

双委夜蛾不同虫态耐寒性及体内生化物质含量变化

【目的】探索双委夜蛾Athetis dissimilis(Hampson)的耐寒策略及越冬虫态。【方法】以室内双委夜蛾种群为虫源,分别测定3龄、4龄、5龄、6龄和老熟幼虫以及蛹的过冷却点(supercooling point,SCP)、结冰点(freezing point,FP)、含水量以及脂肪、蛋白质、甘油、山梨醇和海藻糖含量。【结果】不同龄期幼虫和蛹之间过冷却点和结冰点存在显著差异,低龄幼虫SCP和FP较高;随着龄期增长,二者均降低,老熟幼虫的SCP和FP最低,分别为-18.20℃和-11.72℃。不同龄期幼虫和蛹的生化物质含量均存在显著差异。随着龄期的增加,含水量和甘油含量呈降低的趋势,蛹的含水量(65.33%)和甘油含量(154.90μg/mg)最低;脂肪和蛋白质含量随龄期的增加呈现增加的趋势,蛹的脂肪和蛋白质含量最高,分别为25.36%和2 298.37μg/mg。老熟幼虫海藻糖含量相对较高(57.28 mg/g),而山梨醇含量较低(15.49 mg/g)。【结论】与其他龄期相比,双委夜蛾老熟幼虫和蛹的耐寒性最强,是最可能的越冬虫态;脂肪、蛋白质和海藻糖可能是双委夜蛾重要的耐寒物质。     

冷驯化对油松毛虫越冬幼虫过冷却点及主要耐寒物质的影响

【目的】冷驯化可增强昆虫的耐寒性,本文研究旨在明确不同冷驯化条件下油松毛虫Dendrolimus tabulaeformis Tsai et Liu越冬幼虫的过冷却点和主要耐寒物质的变化规律。【方法】利用热电偶方法测定越冬幼虫的过冷却点,分别采用差量法、氯仿甲醇法、苯酚硫酸法及毛细管气相测谱法测定其含水率、脂肪、糖原和小分子糖醇的含量。【结果】冷驯化会导致幼虫含水率显著降低;过冷却点和脂肪含量在低于环境气温5℃冷驯化后显著降低,当驯化温度低于环境气温10℃及以上则升高;糖原含量在9月份显著增加,越冬中期(1、3月份)含量略有降低但不显著;小分子糖醇含量的变化均不显著;海藻糖含量略降低;甘油、葡萄糖和半乳糖含量在低于环境气温5℃冷驯化后略降低,低于环境气温10℃冷驯化则升高。【结论】冷驯化使幼虫虫体含水率和脂肪含量降低,糖原含量提高,从而导致其过冷却点降低,耐寒能力提高;冷驯化的温度和时间均会影响其过冷却能力,在最适合的温度和时长可以最大程度提高其耐寒能力。研究结果为揭示油松毛幼虫的耐寒机制及潜在分布区预测提供了科学依据。     

中华蜜蜂越冬期抗寒生理生化指标研究

本文研究活框饲养和原始饲养中华蜜蜂Apis cerana cerana Fabricius越冬期的抗寒生理生化指标变化,为中蜂抗寒生理机制和科学饲养管理提供理论依据。结果表明,两种饲养方式蜜蜂的体重、蛋白质和甘油含量均由越冬初期开始上升,越冬中后期达到最高而后下降;游离水和糖原含量均在越冬中后期出现下降;除原始饲养中蜂的CAT酶外,两种饲养方式中蜂的越冬期超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）和过氧化物酶（POD）酶活均在越冬中期降到最低,而总抗氧化能力呈逐渐升高趋势。但活框饲养中蜂越冬期游离水（P<0.05）和糖原含量（P>0.05）均低于原始饲养中蜂,甘油含量显著高于原始饲养中蜂（P<0.05）;活框饲养中蜂与原始饲养中蜂的3种抗氧化酶活性在不同时期存在显著差异,活框饲养中蜂总抗氧化能力显著高于原始饲养中蜂（P<0.05）。蜜蜂在自然越冬时通过降低体内游离水含量,增加甘油含量来增加抗寒能力,并贮备大量糖原和蛋白质供越冬期能量消耗;同时,其体内的抗氧化酶在越冬期间发挥协同作用,减少低温刺激造成的氧化应激反应。     

温度胁迫对二化螟滞育幼虫生理指标的影响

为从生理生化水平上探讨二化螟滞育幼虫应对温度胁迫的生理机制,分别对系列温度胁迫(STS)和梯度温度胁迫(GTS)处理后的幼虫水、脂质、总糖、小分子碳水化合物含量及超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性进行了测定.结果表明:随着温度的降低,两种处理二化螟滞育幼虫虫体含水量趋于减少,且0℃以下时GTS处理下降幅度较STS处理显著;两种处理脂质含量均逐步下降且二者间无显著差异;两种处理总糖含量分别先减后增和持续下降,均检测出4种小分子碳水化合物,其中STS处理葡萄糖、甘油和果糖含量先增后减,海藻糖含量变化与此相反,而GTS处理海藻糖含量先减后增,葡萄糖和甘油含量呈相反变化,果糖含量无变化;14～-14℃范围内STS处理SOD和POD活性较GTS处理低,CAT活性相反.二化螟滞育幼虫生理指标的变化反映了其应对不同温度胁迫的生理响应.     

日本龟蜡蚧雌成虫越冬前后耐寒性及相关生化物质含量的变化

【目的】了解日本龟蜡蚧Ceroplastes japonicus Green越冬前后对低温的耐受性和低温生存对策。【方法】采用热电偶法测定了日本龟蜡蚧雌成虫越冬前(10月)、越冬期(1月)及越冬后(4月)的过冷却点和冰点;采用生理生化方法测定了其体内的水分、脂肪、甘油、总糖、糖原以及海藻糖的含量。【结果】日本龟蜡蚧越冬期的过冷却点和冰点最低,分别为-13.74℃和-10.13℃,与越冬前(分别为-13.30℃和-9.95℃)差异不显著,但显著低于越冬后的(分别为-11.88℃和-7.12℃)。体内含水量在越冬期最低,为11.28%,显著低于越冬前(28.84%)和越冬后(29.60%)的含水量。脂肪含量在越冬前和越冬期较高,分别为86.38%和85.77%,且显著高于越冬后的(77.63%)。甘油含量在越冬前、后和越冬期均无显著差异。总糖含量在越冬前和越冬期均显著高于越冬后的。糖原含量在越冬前、越冬期和越冬后分别为4.03,5.45和1.76μg/mg,三者差异显著,越冬后糖原含量显著降低。海藻糖含量在越冬前最高为14.72μg/mg,显著高于越冬期(6.85μg/mg)和越冬后(7.92μg/mg),但越冬期和越冬后差异不显著。【结论】本研究结果明确了日本龟蜡蚧在越冬前后、越冬期的抗寒能力及与抗寒相关物质含量的变化情况,可为正确评价日本龟蜡蚧低温适应性、预测地理分布和种群变化提供理论依据。     

桃小食心虫幼虫越冬前后对几种杀虫剂敏感性的差异

用药液浸渍法测定了桃小食心虫幼虫越冬前和越冬后对三唑磷、辛硫磷、马拉硫磷、毒死蜱、高效氯氟氰菊酯和阿维菌素等杀虫剂的敏感性差异.结果表明:越冬后幼虫对上述药剂的敏感性分别是越冬前幼虫的34.50、16.71、3.89、3.28、5.90和2.73倍.幼虫越冬后体内能源物质蛋白质、糖元和脂肪含量分别比越冬前降低17.10%、41.76%和30.08%;羧酸酯酶、酸性磷酸酯酶、碱性磷酸酯酶及谷胱甘肽-S-转移酶的活力分别比越冬前降低62.36%、53.47%、76.19%和80.60%;超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化氢酶、过氧化物酶等保护酶活力比越冬前分别降低18.77%、14.16%和64.02%;而幼虫体内多种农药的靶标酶乙酰胆碱酯酶活力的变化则相反,该酶在越冬后幼虫体内的活力是越冬前的1.41倍.表明越冬后幼虫对药剂敏感性的提高与体内能源物质含量、代谢酶、保护酶和靶标酶的活力变化有关.     

高温胁迫下西伯利亚蝗体内抗逆物质含量变化

【目的】新疆气候变暖是导致西伯利亚蝗Gomphocerus sibiricus (L.)持续严重发生的重要原因之一,前期研究表明近40年来西伯利亚蝗严重发生与新疆同期气候变暖有显著相关性,本研究进一步探讨了温度升高条件下西伯利亚蝗的生理生化适应机理。【方法】采用生理生化研究方法,研究了24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39和42℃下西伯利亚蝗体内海藻糖、甘油、油酸、亚油酸和亚麻酸5种抗逆物质的积累与变化过程。【结果】在24~42℃范围内,西伯利亚蝗体内5种物质的积累量随温度的升高呈现出先增后减的变化趋势。海藻糖、甘油、油酸、亚油酸和亚麻酸含量在30℃时含量最高,分别为18.691 μg/g, 261.432 μg/g, 79.063 mg/g, 78.664 mg/g和227.593 mg/g;42℃高温时为最低,含量依次为18.218 μg/g, 104.588 μg/g, 4.343 mg/g, 3.039 mg/g和11.067 mg/g。5种抗逆物质积累的速率不同,其中随温度升高亚油酸含量增、减速率最快,分别为832.189%和63.988%,海藻糖含量增、减速率最慢,分别为 0.893%和0.224%。【结论】在24~30℃之间,随着温度升高,西伯利亚蝗可以通过积累体内抗逆物质,尤其通过快速积累不饱和脂肪酸以提高自身对阶段性高温的耐受能力;超过30℃,蝗虫体内抗逆物质积累下降,死亡率增加,虫体对高温胁迫失去耐受力。这预示着在气候变暖趋势下,西伯利亚蝗仍将是新疆草原最重要的生物灾害之一。     

Intestinal adaptation to diet in the young domestic and wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

The short-term effects of diet on jejunal growth, alanine transport rate, and leucine aminopeptidase activity (LAP) were compared in the domestic and wild turkey poult. One-day-old poults of each strain were fed diets of high vs., low protein, with carbohydrate varied to maintain isocaloric conditions. Prior to feeding, relative jejunal mass and alanine transport rates were not significantly different in the two turkey strains, whereas LAP activity was 270% higher in wild poults. After feeding for 72 h, relative jejunal mass doubled in both turkey strains. In domestic turkeys, alanine transport rate and LAP activity were reduced by approximately 42% and 25%, respectively, in poults fed a 24% protein-69% carbohydrate diet vs. a 49% protein-35% carbohydrate diet. Analysis of the combined data from feeding experiments revealed that alanine transport rate was not correlated with total food, protein or lipid intake, but was negatively correlated with carbohydrate consumption (P<0.05). In wild turkeys, neither alanine transport rate nor LAP activity were altered by diet. These results reveal that domestic turkey hatchlings can modulate protein digestive and absorptive functions as protein/carbohydrate composition of the diet changes and suggest that high dietary carbohydrate down-regulates the intestinal alanine transporter.     

Schistosoma mansoni: effects of in vitro serotonin (5-HT) on aerobic and anaerobic carbohydrate metabolism

The effect of Serotonin on carbohydrate metabolism, excreted end products, and adenine nucleotide pools in Schistosoma mansoni was determined following 60 min in vitro incubations under air (= 21% O2) and anaerobic (95% N2:5% CO2) conditions. In the presence of 0.25 mM Serotonin, glucose uptake increased by 82-84% and lactate excretion increased by 77-78%; levels of excreted lactate were significantly higher under aerobic than under anaerobic conditions. The tissue pools of glucose, hexosephosphates, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, pyruvate, and lactate were significantly increased under anaerobic conditions compared to air incubation; the presence of Serotonin decreased tissue glucose pools and increased the size of the pyruvate and lactate tissue pools. The glycolytic carbon pool was significantly greater under anaerobic than under aerobic conditions, irrespective of Serotonin. Serotonin increased adenosine 5'-diphosphate and adenosine 5'-monophosphate levels under aerobic conditions; neither Serotonin nor gas phase significantly affected total adenine nucleotide levels or the adenylate energy charge. Serotonin increased energy requirements by S. mansoni due to increased muscle contractions; demand was met by enhanced rates of carbohydrate metabolism. Irrespective of gas phase, 74-78% of available carbohydrate was converted to lactate. In the presence of Serotonin, conversion of glucose to lactate was reduced to 63-67%. In view of the requirements by S. mansoni for an abundant supply of glycoprotein and glycolipid precursors for surface membrane renewal, it is suggested that carbohydrate (glucose and glycogen) that was not converted to lactate may have been incorporated into biosynthetic processes leading to membrane synthesis.     

Characterization of human angiotensinogen

In this study of the physical and chemical properties of human angiotensinogen were determined. Human angiotensinogen is a glycoprotein containing 14% carbohydrate. The molecular weight as determined by sedimentation equilibrium studies was 56,800. A higher molecular weight was obtained on sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis. Ferguson-type plots indicated that angiotensinogen is another glycoprotein which behaves anomalously on sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis. The COOH-terminal amino acid was found to be serine while two NH2-terminal amino acids, alanine and aspartic acid (or asparagine), were detected. The specific angiotensin I content of angiotensinogen preparations can vary considerably with no effect on the apparent homogeneity of the isolated protein. A protein with negligible angiotensin I content has been obtained from a preparation of human angiotensinogen. The COOH-terminal amino acid of this protein was serine while the only NH2-terminal amino acid detected was alanine.     

Association of vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein with virion membrane: characterization of the lipophilic tail fragment.

The proteolytic enzyme, thermolysin, degraded the external segment of the membrane glycoprotein of intact vesicular stomatitis (VS) virions but left behind a small nonglycosylated fragment, presumably embedded in the virion membrane. Other proteases generated membrane-associated glycoprotein fragments differing somewhat in molecular weight. The thermolysin-resistant, virion-associated fragment, which can be selectively solubilized by either Triton X-100 or chloroform/methanol, has a molecular weight of 5,200. Amino acid analysis of the glycoprotein fragment reveals a preponderance of hydrophobic amino acids (64% of the residues); the amino-terminal amino acid is alanine as determined by dansylation. Cyanogen bromide digestion of the tail fragment generated two peptides, confirming the presence of one methionine residue per thermolysin-resistant glycoprotein fragment. The secondary structure of this glycoprotein tail peptide is maintained by at least one disulfide bridge. Thermolysin treatment is isolated VS viral glycoprotein in the presence of Triton X-100 also generated a hydrophobic peptide fragment which is very similar to the virion-associated glycoprotein fragment. The amino acid terminus of intact glycoprotein was also found to be alanine as was its dansylated Triton-micellar fragment that resisted thermolytic degradation; this finding suggests that the amino-terminal end of the VS viral glycoprotein is embedded in the virion membrane. These results suggest that the VS viral glycoprotein is an amphipathic molecule, the hydrophilic portion of which contains all the carbohydrate and a lipophilic tail segment which forms lipid or detergent micelles, thus rendering it resistant to proteolysis.     

Water-Soluble Glycoconjugates of Vegetables I. Isolation and Properties of Arabinogalactan-Proteins from Cabbage

We present a new method for isolating and purifying water-soluble arabinogalactan-proteins from cabbage and give their chemical properties. The water-soluble nondialyzable material from fresh cabbage was separated into three fractions (A-I, II, and III) by gel filtration on Sepharose CL-4B. A-I and A-II can be purified by HPLC. Borate is necessary to avoid formation of insoluble aggregates during isolation and purification. The molecular weights of A-I, II, and III were estimated to be 4.0×10⁵, 1.0×10⁵, and 1.0~4.0×10⁴, respectively. A-I and A-II are arabinogalactan-proteins with different carbohydrate/protein ratios: 5.5/1 for A-I and 11.4/1 for A-II. The carbohydrate moieties of A-I and A-II were both arabino-3,6-galactans having d-galactose/l-arabinose ratios of 1.9/1 and 1.5/1, respectively. The amino acid composition indicates an abundance of hydroxyproline, serine, threonine and alanine, the sum of which amounted to about 50% of the total amino acids. A-I contained 1.5 times more hydroxyproline (20%) than A-II (14%), while A-II contained higher proportions of serine, glycine, and alanine. A-III was not a glycoprotein but was a mixture of carbohydrate and polypeptides.     

Preparation and characterization of armadillo submandibular glycoproteins.

The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus mexicanus Peters) was chosen for this study so that a comparison could be made of the salivary mucus glycoproteins of an ancient mammalian species with those derived from previously studied, more highly evolved species. Two mucus glycoproteins, armadillo submandibular glycoprotein A and armadillo submandibular glycoprotein B, were prepared from the armadillo submandibular gland by a modification of the method of Tettamanti & Pigman (1968) (Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 124, 41-50). The composition of glycoprotein A is the simplest one among the known mucus glycoproteins. Six amino acids constitute 98.5 mol/100mol of the protein of glycoprotein A and 82 mol/100 mol of that of glycoprotein B. These are serine and threonine (which make up 40-50% of the molar amino acid composition), glutamic acid, glycine alanine and valine. Proline is absent from glycoprotein A and comprises only 2.3% of glycoprotein B. For both glycoproteins, the protein content, as determined by the method of Lowry, Rosebrough, Farr & Randall (1951) (J. Biol. Chem 193, 265-275), with bovine serum albumin as standard, was nearly 60% higher than when determined by the sum of the amino acids. The ratios of total mol of amino acid/total mol of carbohydrate are 1:0.63 for glycoprotein A and 1:0.68 for glycoprotein B, N-Acetylneuraminic acid and N-acetylgalactosamine, in a molar ratio of about 0.35:1.00, are the principal carbohydrates present in both glycoproteins. Neutral sugars seem to be absent from glycoprotein A, but galactose and fucose are present in glycoprotein B. The carbohydrate side chains in glycoprotein A are composed of about two-thirds monosaccharide and one-third disaccharide residues, whereas those of glycoprotein B are more complex. For both glycoproteins, essentially all of the N-acetylgalactosamine was attached O-glycosidically to the hydroxyamino acid residues of the protein core. The linkage of N-acetylneuraminic acid glycoprotein A was extremely sensitive to dilute acid and neuraminidase. Glycoprotein B has chemical properties similar to those of glycoprotein A. However, whereas glycoprotein A was susceptible to both Clostridium perfringens and Vibrio cholerae neuraminidases, only the latter enzyme had an effect on glycoprotein B at pH 4.75. Both glycoproteins were homogeneous by cellulose acetate electrophoresis and ultracentrifugal analyses. The apparent mol.wts. of glycoprotein A and glycoprotein B were 7.8 X 10(4) and 3.1 X 10(4) respectively.     

In Vivo Growth of Romanomermis culicivorax: Biochemical Changes During Parasitism

Biochemical analyses of total protein, lipid, carbohydrate, DNA, amino acid, and length, width, and dry weight measurements are reported for different stages of Romanomermis culicivorax cultured in the mosquito, Culex pipiens. The Bradford technique for assaying total protein was the most sensitive and reliable biochemical technique tested for assaying in vivo growth of R. culicivorax. Increases in total protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and dry weight during growth from preparasite to postparasite were greater than 6,900-fold for females and 2,300-fold for males. DNA increased 650-fold and 233-fold during development to female and male postparasites, respectively. The proportions of amino acids for preparasites were significantly different (P ≤ 0.01) from female and male postparasites for all amino acids tested, except methionine and tyrosine. Female and male postparasites were similar in protein, lipid, carbohydrate, DNA, and most amino acid proportions, but were significantly different in relative concentrations of serine, glycine, and alanine (P ≤ 0.01). Preliminary results suggest that the use of amino acid ratios from female postparasites improves the in vitro culture performance of R. culicivorax.     

Isolation and characterization of two individual glycoprotein components from human milk-fat-globule membranes.

Two individual glycoprotein components from human milk-fat-globule membranes (MFGM) has been purified by selectively extracting the membrane glycoproteins followed by lectin affinity chromatography and gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 in the presence of protein-disaggregating agents. The purified glycoprotein components, termed 'epithelial-membrane glycoprotein' (EMGP-155 and EMGP-39) have estimated molecular weights of 155 000 and 39 000 respectively, and yield a single band under reducing conditions on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel. EMGP-155 and EMGP-39 contain 21.0% and 7.0% carbohydrate by weight, with fucose (13.5%, 12.4%), mannose (3.7%, 6.2%), galactose (28.5%, 22.6%), N-acetylglucosamine (17.8%, 7.4%) and sialic acid (36.4%, 51.4%) of the carbohydrate moiety respectively. For both the glycoprotein components, aspartic and glutamic acid and serine are the major amino acid residues.