Microassays for a set of enzymes in individual small marine copepods.
Fluorogenic assays for a set of five hydrolytic enzymes involved in digestion and food utilization (alanine and arginine aminopeptidase, lipase/esterase, chitobiase, and beta-glucosidase) were optimized to measure activities of these enzymes in the same extracts of individual small North Sea copepods. The enzyme activities of Acartia clausi, Centropages typicus, Corycaeus anglicus, Paracalanus parvus, and Temora longicornis showed distinct species specific activity patterns, but also high intra-specific variability. Protein, lipids, carbon and nitrogen (C, N) were determined with micro-scale assays in individual copepods or in batches of 10 to 50 animals. Water soluble protein contents ranged from 16% to 38%, and lipid contents from 2.4% to 5.5% of dry mass. The molar C/N ratios were between 4.1 and 4.5. The presented microassays provide suitable tools for studying physiological reactions of copepods and other small pelagic crustaceans in response to variable environmental conditions.
Knotz
Susanna
S
Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Foundation Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, P. O. Box 180, D-27483 Helgoland, Germany. sknotz@awi-bremerhaven.de
Boersma
Maarten
M
Saborowski
Reinhard
R
D000818:Animals; D033342:Copepoda / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology*; D004068:Digestive System Physiological Phenomena; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006867:Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D009659:North Sea; D013045:Species Specificity
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006867:Hydrolases