A NMR study of parasitized tenebrio molitor and Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids

Schoen J., Modha A., Maslow K., Novak M. & Blackburn B. J. 1996. A NMR study of parasitized Tenebrio molitor and Hymenolepis diminuta cysticercoids. International Journal for Parasitology 26: 713-722. In vivo NMR spectra of uninfected and Hymenolepis diminuta-infected Tenebrio molitor fed D-(1-C-13)glucose showed that infected beetles of both sexes had a significantly higher ratio for (glycogen C-1/lipid (CH2)(n)) than the corresponding controls. Quantitative metabolic: profiles and the per cent C-13-label in metabolites, based on MMR of perchloric acid extracts, are presented for control and infected beetles fed D-(1-C-13)glucose and for H. diminuta cysticercoids. Female beetles, both control and infected, contained more glycogen than their male counterparts and infected beetles of both sexes possessed less glycerophosphocholine, but more glycogen and a higher percentage label in glucose and trehalose than their respective controls. Label was also incorporated into glycogen, succinate, acetate, alanine and lactate. Extracts of cysticercoids from beetles fed D-(1-C-13)glucose contained the following labelled compounds, in order of decreasing per cent C-13 label: glucose, trehalose, alanine, succinate, lactate, glycogen and acetate, In vitro cultivation experiments, employing D-(1-C-13)glucose, revealed that trehalose found in cysticercoids was of parasite, and not beetle, origin. Copyright (C) 1996 Australian Society for Parasitology.