Ethanol Production and Utilization by Aphelenchus avenae and Caenorhabditis sp.

Abstract

In microaerobic and anaerobic environments the principal glycolytic end-product of A. avenae and Caenorhabditis sp. was lactic acid during the first 12-16 hr, after which it was ethanol. Upon return to aerobiosis, (1)C-labeled ethanol in the medium was utilized by the nematodes; (1)CO and some (1)C-labeled glycogen was detected. Total dry weight loss of non-feeding nematodes was 25% greater in the absence of alcohol than in the presence of ethanol or n-propanol. Physical movement and respiration increased and reproduction was extended by alcohol in the bathing solution.