ASCARIS-SUUM - FREE AMINO-ACIDS AND PROTEINS IN PSEUDOCOELOM, SEMINAL-VESICLE, AND GLANDULAR VAS-DEFERENS

The free amino acids and proteins of the seminal vesicle and pseudocoelomic fluids in the male A. suum were examined and compared. The seminal fluid contained a high concentration of lysine (lysine: glutamic acid ratio of 5:1) while the pseudocoelomic fluid contained more glutamic acid than lysine with alanine, serine, glycine and proline being the most abundant free amino acids. The proteins present in the seminal fluid differed from those in the pseudocoelomic fluid in both number and MW. The sperm activating substance (SAS) present in homogenates of the glandular vas deferens of male worms was nondialyzable, heat-sensitive and could be precipitated using 45% saturated ammonium sulfate. Active moieties could be recovered following passage of the ammonium sulfate precipitates through ultrafiltration membranes or by applying gland homogenates to an ion exchange column. When subjected to SDS[sodium dodecyl sulfate]-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the active fractions revealed both low and high MW substances. Attempts to purify a single activating substance showed that the more heterogeneous fractions contained the highest activating capacity. No precise relationship between biological activity and purity of the various fractions was determined.