Effects of increased salinity on glucose and maltose composition ofBiomphalaria glabratasnails infected withSchistosoma mansonias determined by high-performance thin-layer chromatography-densitometry

Abstract

Biomphalaria glabrata snails were infected with Schistosoma mansoni and maintained at different dilutions of artificial ocean water for up to 4 weeks. Glucose and maltose concentration of the digestive gland-gonad complex were analyzed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography at different stages of the infection. B. glabrata snails were divided into three experimental groups: Group A, snails with early prepatent infection (10 days post-infection); Group B, snails with late prepatent infection (22 days post-infection); and Group C, snails with patent infection (45 days post-infection). Infected snails in A were maintained at different salinities for 2 weeks and then necropsied, and their two main simple sugars, i.e., glucose and maltose, were analyzed. Groups B and C contained two subgroups: the first subgoups were analyzed after 2 weeks, and the second after 4 weeks. Controls for these experiments were maintained identically in either deionized water or artificial spring water. Maltose and glucose we...