This project has two objectives: (1) To explore the metabolic capabilities of invertebrate species, with emphasis on the ability to metabolize common environmental pollutants. Initially we are studying compounds whose metabolism is well understood in mammals, in order to make comparisons. (2) To investigate the possibility that some types of metabolism studies, especially those which must be performed in vivo, can be effectively accomplished in species having less developed nervous systems (and are thus presumably less subject to pain and distress) than the more commonly used rodent species. We are presently studying Lumbricus terrestris, the common earthworm (""""""""night crawler"""""""") because it has been relatively neglected in studies of metabolic capabilities, and because it is typically exposed to environmental pollutants in landfills. We have now established that L.terrestris can metabolize phthalic acid completely to carbon dioxide contrast to higher animals who excrete this compound intact. We have obtained strong evidence that the metabolic pathway involved oxidation differs markedly from all previously known pathways for phthalic acid metabolism, in that protocatechuic acid is apparently not an intermediate. We are investigating the glycolipids, especially gangliosides, of L.terrestris, since these compounds have never previously been reported to occur in earthworms.
