Preliminary studies on the mucus secretion of the wood wasp, sirex noctilio F. I.physicochemical and biochemical properties

Abstract

The major component of S. noctilio mucus appears tobe a protein-polysaccharide complex with probable molecularweight in the range 60000-100000. In aqueous solution the macromolecule undergoes slow spontaneous disaggregation to yield dialysable subunits of molecular weight 2000-6000 which retain all the physiological activity of the whole mucus. Morerapid disaggregation is brought about by treatment of solutions with moderate concentrations of NaCl, KCl or CaCl2, or by heating. The native mucus contains amylase, esterase, phenoloxidase and proteolytic enzyme activities, and it is suggested that these enzymes may be responsible, at least in part, for the 'natural' disaggregation process. © 1976 ASEG.