The Occurrence ofN-Acetyl- andN-Glycoloylneuraminic Acid inTrypanosoma cruzi

Abstract
Different strains of T. cruzi were found to have 65-105 .mu.g of sialic acids/1010 cells. By TLC and in part by GLC and GLC-mass spectrometry, all strains were found to contain N-acetyl- and N-glycoloylneuraminic acid in various ratios. After incubation of the parasites with either [3H]acetate or N-acetyl-[3H]mannosamine, no radioactivity was found in the sialic acids. The parasites probably are unable to synthesize sialic acids from their precursors.