The mineralization of chitin in the sediments of the Ythan estuary, aberdeenshire, Scotland |
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| Authors: | K Hillman G W Gooday J I Prosser |
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| Abstract: | Reliable methods have been developed for the quantitative estimation of chitin, chitosan and chitin deacetylase in sediment samples, as well as two methods for the estimation of chitinase in these samples. The differing substrates used in the latter two methods have produced distinct ‘depth profiles’ for chitinase activity which suggest the presence of more than one chitinolytic system in the sediments of the Ythan estuary. Studies on the mineralization of chitin in these sediments have revealed a complex system with a number of unexpected features. The rate of chitin degradation was reduced in late summer, possibly due to the heavy seaweed growth which covers the mud flats at this time, although the potential degradative activities of the enzymes chitinase and chitin deacetylase were higher in summer than in winter. The proportional rates of degradation of chitin, chitosan and cellulose were similar in both the absence and presence of seaweed overgrowth, although the apparent rates of degradation of these substrates were higher in the absence of seaweeds. Core samples have indicated that the major input of chitin to the sediment ecosystem occurs via deposition at the surface, while the input of chitosan (the deacetylated polymer) occurs via its production within the sediment, primarily within the upper 5 cm of sediment. The concentrations of both these polymers decreased sharply below an ‘interface’ between aerobic and anoxic sediments. |
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| Keywords: | chitin chitinase chitin deacetylase chitosan degradation Ythan estuary |
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