Abstract
Man, monkeys, and guinea pigs cannot synthesize ascorbic acid due to a lack of gulonolactone oxidase activity. Recently, using two immunological methods, immunoprecipitation and microcomplement fixation, we reported that guinea pigs do not contain antigenic material related to gulonolactone oxidase. Now, using such immunologie techniques as double immunodiffusion, microcomplement fixation, antibody affinity chromatography, and a more sensitive radioimmunoassay, we have found that all three of these species do not contain immunologically cross-reacting material to gulonolactone oxidase. On the other hand, comparable extracts from tissues of all other species that were investigated and that do possess gulonolactone oxidase did cross-react with antiserum to enzyme from two widely differing species, rat and goat. We conclude that the gene for gulonolactone oxidase is not expressed in these scurvy-prone animals.
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