Abstract
Using a sensitive TLC method, we have detected the production of xanthine monophosphate (XMP) from [14C]xanthine by mosquito cell extracts incubated in the presence of phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate and a phosphatase inhibitor. Extracts from both cultured Aedes albopictus cells, and from intact Aedes aegypti mosquitoes contained activity; particularly high activity was found in extracts from adult male mosquitoes. XMP-producing activity was at least 4-fold higher in extracts from cultured mosquito cells than in extracts from Drosophila melanogaster Kc cells or Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera) cells.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1181-1186 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Insect Biochemistry |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1987 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:ot measurably used in pitable nucleic acids, :tivity in extracts from lower than levels of ferase (APRT) activity for Drosophila cells otein) (Becker, 1974a). X is a precursor of uric acid that is formed by the deamination of G and by the oxidation of HX. Although uric acid has been shown to accumulate in certain tissues of various insect species, little specific information on the possible contribution of X to uric acid metabolism in insects is available. It will therefore be of particular interest to examine in further detail the apparent predominance of XMP-producing activity in male mosquitoes, and to learn whether this activity is localized to specific tissues, Acknowledgements--This work was supported by grant AI20385 from the National Institutes of Health. We thank Dr Tanveer Abidi for reading the manuscript and Eleanor Kells for typing the manuscript.
Keywords
- Aedes aegypti
- Aedes albopictus
- Cultured mosquito cells
- xanthine
- xanthine monophosphate