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Chemistry of the cloacal sac secretion of the blind snake Leptotyphlops dulcis

1971; Elsevier BV; Volume: 38; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0305-0491(71)90289-6

0305-0491

Murray S. Blum, Jenny B. Byrd, James R. Travis, J. F. Watkins, Frederick R. Gehlbach,

Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities

1. The cloacal sac secretion of the blind snake Leptotyphlops dulcis is composed primarily of a mucus-like glycoprotein in which are suspended free fatty acids. 2. The glycoprotein, which contains seventeen amino acids and two amino sugars, lacks any detectable tyrosine. 3. Palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acids constitute over 90 per cent of the available free fatty acids. 4. The possible functions of the glycoprotein and fatty acids in the biology of L. dulcis are discussed.