Regulation of glycerolipid metabolism in Tetrahymena species

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6948170

Jones, C R

A simplified extraction system was developed to study the in vivo incorporation of 1-{sup 14}C-acetate into the glycerolipids of Tetrahymena. Cells incubated in the presence of 1-{sup 14}C-sodium acetate were spotted onto pre-acidified TLC plate and extracted by developing the plates in ethanol, and thereafter developing with 90:10:1 (v:v:v) hexane-ether-acetic acid. The synthesis of glycerolipids in Tetrahymena thermophila and Tetrahymena furgasoni, was studied using the above assay system. The level of triacylglycerol was elevated at stationary phase, whereas phospholipid levels were depressed. A shift from phospholipid synthesis to triacylglycerol synthesis occurred when growth was inhibited in Tetrahymena thermophila. The signal for this shift in Tetrahymena thermophila is apparently a decrease in protein synthesis due either to culture age, the presence of cycloheximide, or the removal of amino acid from the synthetic medium. In exponentially growing Tetrahymena thermophila cycloheximide stimulated the incorporation of 1-{sup 14}C-acetate into triacylglycerol and decreased the incorporation into phospholipid, while stopping the incorporation of 1-{sup 14}C-serine into TCA precipitable material from the cells. Similar alterations in glycerolipid synthesis were obtained when amino acids were deleted from the medium. An in vitro assay system was developed to measure the incorporation of 1-{sup 14}C-palmitic acid into triacylglycerol and phospholipid using conditions similar to those of the in vivo studies.

• Research Organization: Maryland Univ., College Park, MD (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6948170
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550501* -- Metabolism-- Tracer Techniques
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ACETATES
ANIMALS
ANTI-INFECTIVE AGENTS
ANTIBIOTICS
BIOLOGICAL VARIABILITY
CARBON 14 COMPOUNDS
CARBOXYLIC ACID SALTS
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CILIATA
CYCLOHEXIMIDE
DRUGS
ESTERS
FUNGICIDES
GENETIC VARIABILITY
GROWTH
HEXADECANOIC ACID
IN VITRO
IN VIVO
INVERTEBRATES
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LIPIDS
METABOLISM
MICROORGANISMS
MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
PESTICIDES
PHOSPHOLIPIDS
PROTOZOA
TETRAHYMENA
TRACER TECHNIQUES