Abstract
1. Hemolymph was collected for analysis from the silkworm, Bombyx mori, in a series of developmental stages ranging from the second molt to the late pupa. The mean pH of larval hemolymph after collection was found to be 6.45, that of pupal hemolymph, 6.57; in vivo values may be slightly lower. Total dry solids ranged from 5.4 to 10.6 per cent. Total protein ranged from 1.2 to 5.3 per cent, increasing rapidly during the fifth instar. 2. Free amino acids were separated chromatographically and estimated. Of 19 amino acids identified, amounting collectively to 823 to 1497 mg. per 100 ml., glutamine, histidine, and lysine generally occurred in greatest amount. Tryptophan was not detected, and cystine (or cysteine) was found in only one sample. The total free amino acids account for 35 to 55 per cent of the non-protein nitrogen of the plasma. 3. Free sugars, estimated semiquantitatively on chromatograms, comprise glucose, fructose, and sucrose in total amount ranging from about 5 to 40 mg. per 100 ml. Total acid-soluble, ultrafiltrable carbohydrate, estimated as glucose by the anthrone reaction, ranged from 166 to 635 mg. per 100 ml., indicating the presence of low molecular weight sugar derivatives. 4. Inorganic phosphate amounted to 5 to 15 mg. per 100 ml., and acid-soluble organic phosphate to 100 to 200 mg. per 100 ml. The latter fraction includes several substances, of which one was tentatively identified as glucose-6-phosphate and the remainder are as yet unidentified. 5. Single samples of hemolymph were also taken from larvae of the wax moth, Galleria mellonella, and the spruce sawfly, Diprion hercyniae. These contained even higher concentrations of solutes than the silkworm samples, but with a generally similar distribution. The proportions of the free amino acids were different in each species.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1,003.6 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- AMINOFF D., MORGAN W. T. J., WATKINS W. M. Studies in immunochemistry. 11. The action of dilute alkali on the N-acetylhexosamines and the specific blood-group mucoids. Biochem J. 1952 Jun;51(3):379–389. doi: 10.1042/bj0510379. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Allen R. J. The estimation of phosphorus. Biochem J. 1940 Jun;34(6):858–865. doi: 10.1042/bj0340858. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- BANDURSKI R. S., AXELROD B. The chromatographic identification of some biologically important phosphate esters. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):405–410. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- BONTING S. L. Differential determination of glucose and fructose in microgram quantities. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1954 Sep;52(1):272–279. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(54)90110-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- BRYSON J. L., MITCHELL T. J. Improved spraying reagents for the detection of sugars on paper chromatograms. Nature. 1951 May 26;167(4256):864–864. doi: 10.1038/167864a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- DISCHE Z., BORENFREUND E. A spectrophotometric method for the microdetermination of hexosamines. J Biol Chem. 1950 Jun;184(2):517–522. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- FONG J., SCHAFFER F. L., KIRK P. L. The ultramicrodetermination of glycogen in liver; a comparison of the anthrone and reducing-sugar methods. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1953 Aug;45(2):319–326. doi: 10.1016/s0003-9861(53)80009-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hopf H. S. The physiological action of abnormally high temperatures on poikilothermic animals: Some changes occurring in the phosphorus distribution of the haemolymph of insects under the influence of abnormally high temperature. Biochem J. 1940 Nov;34(10-11):1396–1403. doi: 10.1042/bj0341396. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- LEVENBOOK L. The physiology of carbon dioxide transport in insect blood. Part III. The buffer capacity of Gastrophilus blood. J Exp Biol. 1950 Sep;27(2):184–191. doi: 10.1242/jeb.27.2.184. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- REDFIELD R. R. Two-dimensional paper chromatographic systems with high resolving power for amino acids. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1953 Feb;10(2):344–345. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(53)90260-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- WYATT G. R. Recognition and estimation of 5-methylcytosine in nucleic acids. Biochem J. 1951 May;48(5):581–584. doi: 10.1042/bj0480581. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- WYATT S. S. Culture in vitro of tissue from the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. J Gen Physiol. 1956 Jul 20;39(6):841–852. doi: 10.1085/jgp.39.6.841. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]