An insect glycoprotein: a study of the particles responsible for the resistance of a parasitoid's egg to the defence reactions of its insect host.

A study has been carried out of the chemical composition and physical structure of small particles, 130 nm in diameter, isolated from the calyx of the ichneumon, Nemeritis canescens. The particles are vesicular, consisting of a densely-staining core surrounded by an outer membrane. The core of the particles is made up of protein and carbohydrate in the ratio 100:17; no nucleic acid was detected. The basic chemical subunit of the core of the particles appears to be a glycoprotein of molecular mass ca. 45 000. The basic structural subunit of the core, however, is a short, hollow cylinder, about 10 nm across. It seems likely that several chemical subunits make up one structural subunit, and that many structural subunits, surrounded by the membrane, make up a single particle.