Age-Related Changes in Natural Actomyosin of the Male House Fly, Musca Domestica L.

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Abstract
Natural actomyosin was extracted from the male house fly and examined for age-related changes. The quantity of actomyosin extracted, the specific activity of its ATPase, and the ATPase activity per thorax each increased rapidly to a peak during the period of 24-36 hours post-emergence, followed in each case by a continuous decline in these parameters. The decline in actomyosin ATPase activity is related agewise directly to the loss of flight ability with age, as measured by duration of flight, and precedes the failure of other enzymes concerned with the release of energy in the contraction of flight muscles. These results add further confirmation to the earlier proposed inference that the maturation, decline, and failure of flight ability in the male house fly is a programmed phenomenon.

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