Comparative studies of the carbohydrate component from vitellins of the cockroaches Blattella germanica, Blaberus discoidalis, Periplaneta americana and Simploce capitata and the locust Locusta migratoria have been conducted. Chemical, enzymatic and chromatographic analyses show that each vitellin contains variably processed high mannose type oligosaccharides. While all have a common size range they occur as two distinct classes based on the proportion of individual saccharides present. Oligosaccharide size distribution is not a characteristic of an individual animal but of the species. Because oligosaccharide heterogeneity also occurs in B. germanica vitellogenin (the hemolymph precursor of vitellin), it does not result from structural changes during or after its uptake by the egg.
