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Incidence and estimation of chitinase activity associated with marine fish and other estuarine samples

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Abstract

A procedure for the determination of chitinase activity was adapted for the seawater environment. Preliminary data indicate that the controlled bacterial environment within the digestive tracts of marine fishes and possibly other marine animals plays a significant role in the decomposition and recycling of chitin. It is estimated in the stomachs of a single population of Enophrys bison (buffalo sculpin) of 1×105 fish that ca. 16 metric tons of chitin could be decomposed annually.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

    T. D. Goodrich & R. Y. Morita

  2. School of Oceanography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

    T. D. Goodrich & R. Y. Morita

  3. Department of Microbiology, California State University, 90840, California, Long Beach, USA

    T. D. Goodrich

Authors
  1. T. D. Goodrich
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  2. R. Y. Morita
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Additional information

Communicated by J.S. Pearse, Santa Cruz

Published as Technical Paper No. 4434, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. This research was supported by NIH training grant 5TO1 GM-00704 and NSF grant DES73-06611 AO2.

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Goodrich, T.D., Morita, R.Y. Incidence and estimation of chitinase activity associated with marine fish and other estuarine samples. Mar. Biol. 41, 349–353 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00389100

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