CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF THE SILKWORM. XXVII. TREHALOSE, TREHALASE AND MOLTING

Abstract

AbstractDuring the development of the Silkworm, the amount of blood trehalose sharply decreases at each moult, and also during the fasting period corresponding to spinning. the fall of blood trehalose concentration during the moults is related to the release of the inhibition of the trehalase present in the hemolymph.The presence of a trehalase in the muscles and in the digestive tract is confirmed. This enzyme has not been detected in the fat body, in the epidermis or in the silkglands.In the fat body, there exists an inverse relationship between glycogen and trehalose, the former disappearing almost completely at each moult, whereas the amount of trehalose tends to remain at a nearly constant level. On the other hand, the bulk of the fat body is consumed to a large extent during the periods of chitin synthesis.The gluconeogenesis during the silkworm development and the metabolism of chitin synthesis at each moult, are discussed in the light of these experimental data.