Influence of potential food supply on the activity of digestive enzymes of neritic zooplankton
Mayzaud, P.; Conover, R.J. (1976). Influence of potential food supply on the activity of digestive enzymes of neritic zooplankton, in: Persoone, G. et al. (Ed.) Proceedings of the 10th European Symposium on Marine Biology, Ostend, Belgium, Sept. 17-23, 1975: 2. Population dynamics of marine organisms in relation with nutrient cycling in shallow waters. pp. 415-427 In: Persoone, G.; Jaspers, E. (Ed.) (1976). Proceedings of the 10th European Symposium on Marine Biology, Ostend, Belgium, Sept. 17-23, 1975: 2. Population dynamics of marine organisms in relation with nutrient cycling in shallow waters. European Marine Biology Symposia, 10(2). IZWO/Universa Press: Wetteren. ISBN 90-6281-002-0. 712 pp., more In: European Marine Biology Symposia., more |
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| Authors | | Top | - Mayzaud, P., more
- Conover, R.J.
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| Abstract | A survey of the biochemical composition of the particulate matter (protein, carbohydrate, lipid) and of the activity of various digestive enzymes of neritic zooplankton has been carried out during the summer and fall of 1974 in the Bedford Basin (Nova Scotia. Canada). Activities of amylase, alpha- and beta-glucosidases, beta-galactosidases, and acidic and alkaline proteases were significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with the variations in abundance in the particulate matter. Michaelis constants (Km) showed an inverse relationship between the carbohydratases and the proteases, suggesting that the enzyme activity represents a specific response to the substrate offered. Analysis of several different categories of particulate matter (diatom, dinoflagellate, microzooplankton, total volume and less than 16 pm volume), further showed that the biochemical measurement does not indicate an enzyme-substrate relationship but merely the amount of different types of organic matter in the diet of the animals. Nutritional value of the particulate matter is discussed in terms of digestibility for the copepods and biochemical regulation mechanisms of digestive enzymes activity are proposed. |
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