Abstract
Conditions for the measurement of aldrin epoxidation by microsomes prepared from abdominal tissues (fat body + integument) of adult female Culex pipiens were characterized. The enzyme activity had a pH optimum of 7.2 and an apparent Km of 3.4 μM. Aldrin epoxidation and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase had similar patterns of inhibition by a rabbit antiserum to house fly NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase, thus implicating cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase(s) in the epoxidation of aldrin. Low (71 pmol/mg protein) levels of cytochrome P-450 were detected in abdominal tissue microsomes. In non-blood-fed insects, aldrin epoxidation and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activities did not change between Day 1 and Day 12 after adult emergence, except for a small peak on Day 2. In insects fed a blood meal on Day 6 after emergence both activities increased (two- to threefold) to a plateau maintained between 2 and 4 days after the blood meal. Aldrin epoxidation and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activities decreased to normal values between 4 and 6 days after the blood meal.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 407-413 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1986 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by NIH Grant AI 19192 to R. F. Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Paper No. 7552.