The excretory metabolism of the endoparasitic digeneanFasciola hepaticaand its relationship to its respiratory metabolism

Abstract

SUMMARYThe amounts of ammonia excreted by two endoparasitic flatworms have been compared and, weight for weight, the sheep liver flukeFasciola hepaticaproduces ten times as much ammonia as the rat tapewormHymenolepis diminuta. This is thought to reflect a difference in diet, the fluke feeding mainly on the blood and tissue proteins of its host, and the tapeworm mainly on carbohydrates from the food materials in the gut of the host. However, the addition of glucose to the saline in which the flukes are cultured produces a marked decrease in the ammonia and an increase in the lactic acid excreted, suggesting that flukes are not obligatory protein feeders but that they may utilize carbohydrate when it is available. The relatively low production of lactic acid when proteins are being metabolized suggests that the flukes are producing an alternative end-product of respiratory metabolism. It is possible that this is the neutral lipid found in the excretory system ofFasciolaand the possibility of an alternative metabolic pathway for the production of such lipid is discussed. The respiratory metabolism appears to be independent of oxygen, and the possible role of oxygen in other aspects of the metabolism of the fluke is discussed.I should like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr J. Llewellyn for his constant advice and encouragement during the course of this work and the preparation of the manuscript. I also thank Professor 0. E. Lowenstein, F.R.S., for allowing me the use of the facilities in his department during the tenure of an S.R.C. Research Studentship. Finally, my thanks are due to Mr E. Wilson, the Veterinary Officer at the Birmingham City Meat Market, for his constant co-operation in obtaining supplies of liver flukes.