Naturally occurring agglutinin in the hemolymph of Japanese coastal Crustacea.

Abstract

Naturally occurring agglutinin activity in the hemolymph of 17 species of coastal Crustacea was examined by using 20 strains of marine bacterial cells. All serum specimens of each crustacean species were found to contain the agglutinin activity. The activity against Vibrio strains were higher than against other bacterial genera and gram-positive cocci. The activity of almost all specimens was completely inactivated at temperatures between 65 and 80°C. Most of the agglutinins were stable at pH values ranging from 5 to 10. Relatively high activities occurred in a slightly more acidic or basic pH than the normal pH of the hemolymph (pH 7.2) in some animal species. The activity of most agglutinins was inhibited by D-xylose, but in a few animals it was also inhibited by L-arabinose, D-glucosamine, L-rhamnose, galactose or raffinose.