POLYOL ACCUMULATION IN IN VITRO SYSTEMS OF BOMBYX EGGS

The mechanism of polyol accumulation in diapausing Bombyx eggs, conversion of [6-14 C] glucose-6-phosphate into polyols and other neutral sugars was investigated in in vitro reaction systems. When a crude homogenate or a press juice of the eggs was incubated with [6-14 C]glucose-6-P, the labelled trehalose, sorbitol and glycerol accumulated in the reaction mixture. In the press juice incubation system of developing eggs at day 1, 14 C-sorbitol was detected in appreciable amounts, but it decreased rapidly with the development of the embryos. When the press juice was prepared from eggs in diapause, the formation of 14 C-sorbitol was 3-5 times greater in eggs at early stages (day 2 to day 4) than in developing eggs.