Sensitivity of ATPase activities to fire ant venom and abdomen preparations.

The sensitivity of fire ant, $\text{Solenopsis richteri}$ (Forel), head homogenate ATPase to its venom and to a cyclohexane extract of whole fire ants were investigated. Na⁺K⁺ and oligomycin-sensitive Mg²⁺ ATPase activities were inhibited by both preparations. Oligomycin-insensitive Mg²⁺ ATPase activity was inhibited by low concentrations but showed strong stimulation at high concentrations of the venom preparations. Lineweaver-Burk plots of enzyme data in the presence or absence of inhibitor indicated that the inhibitor action was non-competitive with ATP for Na⁺K⁺ and oligomycin-sensitive Mg²⁺ ATPase activities. However, the oligomycin-insensitive Mg²⁺ ATPase activity showed a mixed type response to the inhibitor. Tests on pure samples of known venom components indicate that they cause the observed effects on the ATPase activities.