Summary
The mechanism of trehalose absorption was examined in developing ovaries of the silkworm,Bombyx mori. Trehalose and glucose absorption followed saturation kinetics giving an apparentK m value of 8.4 mM and a Vmax of 12.5 μmoles/30 min per g ovaries for trehalose absorption, and an apparentK m value of 26.4 mM and a Vmax of 36.6 μmoles/30 min per g ovaries for glucose uptake. Trehalose absorption was clearly inhibited by addition of NaCN or NaN3 to the incubation medium.
Cellobiose, maltose, sucrose and turanose were taken up by ovaries at much lower rates than trehalose. Among the disaccharidases which hydrolyse these sugars, trehalase activity was highest. The correlation between trehalase activity and trehalose absorption rate was also demonstrated by a reduction of trehalase activity accompanied by reduced absorption rates after extirpation of the suboesophageal ganglion (SG). During trehalose absorption, glucose was released into the incubation medium, but after SG removal, no liberation of glucose was observed. Furthermore, no accumulation of14C-trehalose, added to the medium, was observed in the cells and almost all radioactivity was recovered as glucose and glycogen in the ovaries.
These results suggest that in developing silkworm ovaries, trehalose is absorbed by a specific carriermediated and energy-dependent system, in which the hydrolysis by trehalase is an obligatory step.
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Shimada, S., Yamashita, O. Trehalose absorption related with trehalase in developing ovaries of the silkworm,Bombyx mori . J Comp Physiol B 131, 333–339 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688808
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688808