Mode of insecticidal action studied with labelled systems. Phosphorylated compounds in the muscle of the adult housefly, Musca domestica, L

Comparative Physiology: Fuel of Muscle Metabolism

“…Indications that arginine phosphate may serve as a store of 'labile' phosphate groups in insects are suggested by such studies of those as Petters son (108) who showed a reciprocal concentration of phosphagen with that of ATP and muscle development in the metamorphosing pupa of Calliphora erythrocephala. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that arginine phos phate levels decrease during flight in houseflies (102). Free arginine is pres ent in insects at all stages of development (109) ; and presumably if arginine phosphokinase is present, as it is in a wide variety of other invertebrates (133), arginine phosphate could play a role in the contractile process and other energy-requiring activities of insects.…”