Record Details

Degradation of barnacle nauplii: Implications to chitin regulation in the marine environment

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

View Archive Info
 
 
Field Value
 
Title Degradation of barnacle nauplii: Implications to chitin regulation in the marine environment
 
Creator Khandeparker, L.
Gaonkar, C.C.
Desai, D.V.
 
Subject nauplii
degradation
bacteria
chitin
 
Description The exoskeleton of most invertebrate larval forms is made of chitin, which is a linear polysaccharide of beta (1?4)-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residues. These larval forms offer extensive body surface for bacterial attachment and colonization. In nature, degradation of chitin involves a cascade of processes brought about by chitinases produced by specific bacteria in the marine environment. Microbial decomposition of larval carcasses serves as an alternate mechanism for nutrient regeneration, elemental cycling and microbial production. The present study was undertaken to assess the influence of chitinase enzyme on the degradation of the nauplii of barnacle, Balanus amphitrite. The survival and abundance of bacteria during the degradation process under different experimental conditions was monitored. To the best of our knowledge, no such study is conducted to understand the degradation of larval exoskeleton using chitinase and its influence on bacteria. An increase in the chitinase activity with increase in temperature was observed. Scanning electron micrographs of chitinase treated nauplii showed scars on the surface of the barnacle nauplii initially and further disruption of the exoskeleton was observed with the increase in the treatment time. Bacterial abundance of the chitinase treated nauplii increased with the increase in enzyme concentration. Pathogenic bacteria such as Vibrio cholerae, V. alginolyticus, V. parahaemolyticus which were initially associated with the exoskeleton were absent after chitinase treatment, however, Bacillus spp. dominated subsequent to chitinase treatment and this might have important implications to marine ecosystem functioning.
 
Date 2013-07-10T07:09:15Z
2013-07-10T07:09:15Z
2013
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Biologia, vol.68(4); 2013; 696-706
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/4331
 
Language en
 
Rights An edited version of this paper was published by Springer. This paper is for R & D purpose and Copyright [2013] Springer.
 
Publisher Springer