Extracellular Enzyme Activity and Its Implications for Organic Matter Cycling in Northern Chinese Marginal Seas.

ABSTRACT: Extracellular enzymes, initiating the degradation of organic macromolecules, are important functional components of marine ecosystems. Measuring in situ seawater extracellular enzyme activity (EEA) can provide fundamental information for understanding the biogeochemical cycling of organic matter in the ocean. Here we investigate the patterns of EEA and the major factors affecting the seawater EEA of Chinese marginal seas. The geographic distribution of EEA along a latitudinal transect was examined and found to be associated with dissolved organic carbon. Compared with offshore waters, inshore waters had higher enzyme activity. All the tested substrates were hydrolyzed at different rates and phosphatase, β-glucosidase and protease contributed greatly to summed hydrolysis rates. For a

SUBMITTER: Li Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6755343 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature