Glycogen metabolism in the snail, Biomphalaria glabrata

1. The distribution of glycogen in different tissues of the snail, Biomphalaria glabrata was determined; the cephalopedal region contained 15-17 mg, the mantle region 23-29 mg, the hepatopancreas 31-45 mg, and the ovotestis 50 mg of glycogen/g wet wt. 2. There was a significant decrease in the glycogen content in the cephalopedal region after incubating the snails with 5-hydroxytryptamine (4 x 10(-5) M) in vivo. 3. Enzymatic degradation of glycogen from different tissues revealed that the degree of branching was 9% of the total glucosyl residues, and the length of outer branches was about 40% of the total glucosyl residues. 4. There was an active form of glycogen phosphorylase in the cephalopedal region and the mantle region. Phosphorylase in the hepatopancreas was generally inactive, but could be activated by an endogenous phosphorylase kinase. 5. Glycogen synthetase of the snail tissues required glucose-6-phosphate to be active.