QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE SPECTRUM OF AMINO-ACIDS IN MALES AND FEMALES OF 3 NEMATODE SPECIES

The qualitative and quantitative spectrum of 17 amino acids (AA) was d etermined in 3 nematode species: Anguillicola crassus (host Anguilla a nguilla), Protospirura muricola (host Cryptomys hottentotus) and Toxoc ara canis (host Canis familiaris). In comparing the spectrum hierarchi c order of amino acids in individual nematode species (both sexes pool ed), statistically significant differences were found in 10 AAs, of es sential amino acids (EAA) in tyrosine, valine, phenylalanine, arginine , lysine and cystine, of non-essential amino acids (NEAA) in glutamic acid, alanine, glycine and serine. Statistically insignificant differe nces are in leucine, isoleucine and proline (between P. muricola and T . canis), a different position is in threonine and histidine. The comp arison of amino acid quantitative values in males and females of 3 nem atode species indicated the statistically significant differences, nam ely in both EAAs and NEAAs. In the species. A. crassus, there were 4 A As (tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine and alanine) with higher values in favour of males and 2 AAs (aspartic acid and proline) in favour of females; in P. muricola, the respective ratio was 2 (valine and leuci ne) : 7 (threonine, lysine, arginine, cystine, serine, glutamic acid a nd alanine); in T. canis it was one (proline) : 4 (isoleucine, glutami c acid, glycine and alanine). No amino acid was found which could demo nstrate a statistically significant value characteristic only of males or only of females in the nematodes under study.