Incorporation of [1-14C]acetate into the lipids of the silkworm Bombyx mori L.

Abstract

Silkworm larvae and pupae have been shown to incorporate 14c into the lipid at a high rate after the injection or ingestion of [l-14C]acetate. The saponifiable fraction of the lipid recovered from the insect contained two or more times the radioactivity of the unsaponifiable fraction. The sterol fraction did not contain any radioactivity. Most of the radioactivity in the saponifiable fraction was present in palmitic acid, stearic acid and oleic acid, and the polyunsaturated acids were non-radioactive. The amount of radioactivity incorporated was higher in the male than in the female pupae.