(full paper is archived in the Miller Library)
Title: carbohydrase activity in the intestinal tract of Pagurus samuelis (Arthropoda: Malacostra)
Student Author(s): Hourani, Benjamin
Pages: 16
Location: Final Papers Biology 175H
Date: June 1965
Keywords: hermit crab
Pagurus
Abstract: 1. Under the conditions of the experiment, enzyme extracts, prepared from the hepatopancreas, foregut, and midgut of P. samuelis were found to show no activity capable of hydrolyzing the following carbohydrates: laminarin, fucoidin, cellulose, cellobiose, sucrose, agar, and alginate. 2. Alpha glucosidase activity was detected using maltose in extracts of hepatopancreas and foregut, the former producing a higher reaction rate. Both extracts reacted more rapidly at a pH of 5.7 than at a pH of 7.5. Midgut extracts indicated no hydrolysis of the 1,4 alpha glucose linkage. 3. No chitinase activity was observed in any of the sections of the gut studied. 4. Extracts of the anterior midgut diverticula showed no increase in reducing sugar over controls when tested for maltase activity.