Abstract
PARKIN1 demonstrated that the larval gut of the common house borer Anobium punctatum De Geer contained an enzyme or enzymes which produced reducing sugars from isolated oak α-cellulose in vitro. Falck2 and Müller3 concluded from chemical analyses of sound and digested wood that some α-cellulose was digested by the larvæ. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the amount of α-cellulose digested and its significance in the total diet of Anobium punctatum.
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References
Parkin, J. Exp. Biol., 17, 364 (1940).
Falck, Cellulosechem., 11, 89 (1930).
Müller, Arch. Microbiol., 5, 84 (1934).
Spiller and Denne, N.Z. J. Sci. and Tech., 30, B, 129 (1948).
Purves, in Ott: “Cellulose and Cellulose Derivatives”, 141 (New York, 1943).
Wise, Murphy and D'Addieco, Paper Trade J., 122, 35 (1946).
Wise and Ratliff, Anal. Chem., 19, 459 (1947).
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SPILLER, D. Digestion of Alpha-Cellulose by Larvæ of Anobium punctatum De Geer. Nature 168, 209–210 (1951). https://doi.org/10.1038/168209a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/168209a0
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