Using the suspension of
Trichomonas foetas, one of the polyflagellated protozoa, the carbohydrate metabolism was studied manometrically under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions and, the biochemical changes during the course of the anaerobic culture were observed.
1. The preliminary tests were carried out in order to determine the standard conditions for the study of glucose oxidation, that is, with respect to the effects of pH, salt concentration, glucose concentration and the numbers of the parasite on the oxygen uptake of
T. foetus.
2. Of the twenty seven substrates tested, only glucose, fructose, mannose, galactose, , sucrose and maltose increased the oxygen uptake of the parasite, while the others.did not evidently activate the endogene ous respiration. Especially, lactate, pyruvate and C
4-dicarboxylic acids did not influence the respiration of the parasite, and malonate had no inhibitory effect on the oxygen uptake. These facts suggested that Krebs' tricarboxylic acid cycle did not take part in this aerobic carbohydrate metabolism.
3. The facts that the respiration of this protozoon was strongly inhibited by monoiodoacetate (0.00005
M) and sodium fluoride (0.001
M), but not by cyanide (0.01
M) and azide (0.1
M) and that acid formation was observed in the aerobic breakdown of glucose, gave the suggestion that the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas' glycolytic process has relation to this glucose metabolism.
We demonstrated the presence of catalase and peroxidase in minced juice of the parasites and also ascertained spectroscopically the existence of cytochrome b in
T. foetus, but could find neither the absorption bands of cytochrome a and c nor that of cytochrome oxidase.
4. In the anaerobic breakdown of glucose, the parasite evolved hydrogen gas as well as metabolic carbon dioxide, and produced a large quantity of acids, of which more than 70% was identified as succinic acid. Both lactic and pyruvic acids were scarcely produced in the same condition. In these facts, this anaerobic glucose metabolism differed considerably from the usual glycolysis.
5. During the course of the anaerobic cultivation of this protozoon, the titrable acids formation proceeded in parallel with glucose consumption, while the parasites were developing. Of the total amount of the titrable acids, that of succinic acid was 83%, but that of lactic and pyruvic acids, less than 10%. The gas produced in the cultivation was shown by micro gas analysis to contain a large amount of hydrogen and a small amount of methane.
We are deeply indebted to Prof. K. Okunuki for the spectroscopic observation and to Dr. C. Koyama for micro gas analyses and to Mr. H. Huzitani for the cultivation of the parasite. The authors' thanks are also due to Prof. F. Egami for his continued interest and advice.
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