Abstract
We report on a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) found in the oral secretions, but not midgut contents, of the burying beetle, Nicrophorus marginatus. PLA2 is responsible for hydrolyzing fatty acids from the sn-2 position of dietary phospholipids (PLs), an essential step in digestion and absorption of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. Like the digestive PLA2s known from mammalian systems, and the one described insect digestive PLA2 the N. marginatus oral secretion PLA2 depends upon Ca2+ for full activity. However, unlike most digestive PLA2s, the N. marginatus enzyme is only partially inactivated in the absence of Ca2+. The PLA2 in N. marginatus oral secretions was influenced by altering the enzyme reaction conditions, including reaction time, protein concentration, pH, and temperature. Standard reaction conditions for assessing enzyme activity include 1.0 μg protein/μl incubated at pH 9.0 for 30 min at 28°C.
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