MAINTENANCE OF ASCARIS LUMBRICOIDES IN VITRO: II. CHANGES IN MUSCLE AND OVARY CARBOHYDRATES

Abstract

The possibility of using carbohydrate determinations to assess the nutritional state of the intestinal nematode, Ascaris lumbricoides, is discussed and investigated. For fresh material the following mean values and standard deviations were found: muscle glycogen (I) 14.8 ± 2.5 g%, muscle trehalose (II) 1.11 ± 0.35 g%, ovary glycogen (III) 7.2 ± 0.6 g%, and ovary trehalose (IV) 0.27 ± 0.13 g%. A single replication of a 3 × 25 design, with confounding, was used to study the effects of 1, 2, and 3 days in vitro together with N2 versus 5% O2 and the presence and absence in the keeping medium of 14 mM NH4+, 0.2% glucose, a vitamin mixture, and an amino acid mixture. None of these substances affected the drop to 11.0 g% which occurred in I on the first day and only glucose showed a highly significant sparing action which was manifest on the second and third day. Glucose also had a significant sparing action with III but mainly on the third day. Highly significant decreases occurred in both II and IV on the second day.