Abstract
14C-squalene was used as a substrate to probe the mechanism of the inability for sterol biosynthesis in the larva of fly ( Sarcophaga bullata) tissue homogenates: fat body, gut, and epidermis as well as whole larval homogenates were used as enzyme sources. Numerous incubation regimens have been investigated, with various combinations of cofactors and thiol-reagents. There is no significant sterol biosynthesis from 14C-squalene in this insect system. When dithiothreitol was used as the thiol-reagent, 14C-squalene was metabolized to a more polar compound which has the same chromatographic characteristics as squalene-2,3-oxide in four solvent systems. The mechanism of the deletion of sterol biosynthesis in insects through adaptation, evolution, and metabolic regulation is discussed.
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