Zymograms of the Parasitic Nematodes, Neoaplectana glaseri and N. carpocapsae, Grown Axenically

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Abstract
The application of a technique for separating different molecules (zone electrophoresis in starch gel) combined with identification techniques (chemically specific staining for enzymatic activity), i.e., the zymogram, was used to show molecular similarities and differences among enzymes of two parasitic nematodes grown axenically. The esterases of Neoaplectana glaseri Steiner, 1929, were multiple and varied in activity to substrates. They were similar for worms grown on media from natural sources or in a medium that was in part chemically defined. They were insensitive to eserine and activated by taurocholate. In addition, they were qualitatively similar for populations of worms composed almost exclusively of third-stage larvae as compared to populations of worms which contained adult and larval stages. The esterases of N. carpocapsae Weiser, 1955, differed from those of N. glaseri. Neither species showed alkaline phosphatase or lactic dehydrogenase activity. Acid phosphatase, present in multiple molecular forms in N. glaseri, differed from that of N. carpocapsae.