title: Comparative erythrocyte metabolism in marsupials and monotremes.
abstract: Concentrations of ATP and DPG, activities of 10 enzymes and the glycolytic rates were measured in the erythrocytes of 11 species of marsupials and two species of monotremes. Mean DPG concentrations were greater in the erythrocytes of marsupials than those of eutherian mammals. The opposite is true of ATP. Significant findings from the results of enzyme activities were: high activity of hexokinase (7.39 +/- 0.82 EU/g Hb) in the short-beaked echidna, pyruvate kinase (37.49 +/- 1.0 EU/g) Hb in bridled nailtail wallaby and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD; 41.66 +/- 1.24 EU/g Hb) in black-striped wallaby. About 6- to 7-fold difference in the activity of G6PD levels between the two species of wombats was confirmed. Glucose phosphate isomerase activity was also shown to be twice as high in the red cells of the common wombat compared with those of the southern hairy nosed wombat. There were wide variations in the glycolytic rate among the species examined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Parkinson
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Whittington
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grigg
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hinds
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kuchel
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Agar
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D004163:Diphosphoglyceric Acids / Q000097:blood; D004798:Enzymes / Q000097:blood; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005956:Glucose-6-Phosphate Isomerase / Q000378:metabolism; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D007773:Lactates / Q000097:blood; D007614:Macropodidae / Q000097:blood; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000097:blood*; D009007:Monotremata / Q000097:blood*; D010987:Platypus / Q000097:blood; D013045:Species Specificity; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D004442:Tachyglossidae / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D004163:Diphosphoglyceric Acids; D004798:Enzymes; D006454:Hemoglobins; D007773:Lactates; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase; D005956:Glucose-6-Phosphate Isomerase