Developmental expression and biochemical characterization of catalases and aminopeptidases ofNassarius obsoleta

Abstract
Electrophoretic analysis of catalase isozyme patterns of Nassarius obsoleta indicates that these isozymes are products of two separate loci. Five aminopeptidase isozymes have also been detected in N. obsoleta and the data suggest that at least two loci encode these aminopeptidase isozymes. Experiments designed to test for the interconvertibility of the isozymes indicate that the two catalase isozymes and that two of the five aminopeptidase isozymes tested were not conformational artifacts but distinct genetic products. No change in catalase isozyme expression, but considerable quantitative variation in catalase specific activity was noted during early developmental stages of N. obsoleta. Both qualitative and quantitative changes were noted in aminopeptidase expression during early developmental stages. This paper also describes several physicochemical parameters for each of the two enzymes under study.