1. Metabolism of Plasmodium berghei
- Author
-
K Nagarajan
- Subjects
Pyruvate decarboxylation ,Immunology ,Oxidative phosphorylation ,Biology ,Plasmodium ,Cofactor ,Cell-free system ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,parasitic diseases ,Parasite hosting ,Cytochrome c oxidase ,Plasmodium berghei ,Antiserum ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,Host (biology) ,Succinate dehydrogenase ,Carbon fixation ,General Medicine ,Metabolism ,biology.organism_classification ,Amino acid ,Citric acid cycle ,Infectious Diseases ,Enzyme ,chemistry ,Biochemistry ,biology.protein ,Parasitology ,Energy source ,Adenosine triphosphate ,Intracellular ,Organic acid - Abstract
Formation of C4 dicarboxylic acids in Plasmodium berghei by carbon dioxide fixation reaction has been demonstrated by the use of labeled NaH14CO3. The reactions require glucose, which may be required not only as an energy source but also to contribute to the formation of pyruvate in the process of carbon dioxide fixation. Intracellular concentration of pyruvate may play an important role in the metabolism of P. berghei; an increased intracellular level of pyruvate seems to be a prerequisite before some of these reactions could be detected. The distribution of the label indicates extensive randomization of amino acids and suggests an extensive cycling of the amino acid and organic acid pools of the parasites. This investigation formed part of the thesis submitted in 1965 for the doctoral degree at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 12, India, and was supported in part by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India.
- Published
- 1968
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