Abstract
Summary
Evidence is presented that pep-tide products of hydrolysis of casein, including some di- and tripeptides, but not the constituent amino acids, can stimulate growth of C. briggsae in defined basal medium supplemented with cytochrome C and β-sitosterol. Peptide activity may arise from amino acid imbalances in the medium which cause competitive inhibition of uptake of essential amino acids. Such activity precludes facilitation of heme transport as the sole function of growth factor in C. briggsae. This is the first report of a nutritional role of peptides in invertebrate meta-zoa.
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