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Zooplankton samples were collected in January 1993 off Dronning Maud Land along a transect from open waters to the marginal ice zone close to the Antarctic ice shelf. Thysanoessa macrura was caught in open waters while Calanoides acutus and Calanus propinquus were mainly sampled between ice floes in the marginal ice zone. The “ice-krill”Euphausia crystallorophias was found over the shelf directly associated with ice floes. T. macrura had a lipid content up to 36% of its dry weight with the dominant lipid class, wax ester, accounting for 45–50% of the total lipid. The predominance of 18:1 fatty alcohols is the striking characteristic of the wax esters. Small specimens of E. crystallorophias had lipid levels up to 26% of their dry weight with, unexpectedly, triacylglycerols being the dominant lipid (up to 41% of total lipid). The small levels of wax esters in these animals (3–6% of total lipid) had phytol as a major constituent. Large specimens of E. crystallorophias had up to 34% of their dry weight as lipid, with wax esters (47% of total lipid) dominated by 16:0 and 14:0 fatty alcohols as the major lipid. Calanus propinquus had lipid levels of up to 34% of their dry weight, with triacylglycerols (up to 63% of total lipid) being the dominant lipid. High levels of 22:1 (n-9) fatty acid were present in the triacylglycerols. Calanoides acutus had lipid levels up to 35% of the dry weight with wax esters accounting for up to 83% of total lipid. High levels of (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids were recorded with 20:5(n-3), 22:6(n-3) and 18:4(n-3) being the dominant moieties. On the basis of their lipid compositions we deduce that: (1) Calanoides acutus is the strictest herbivore among the four species studied, heavily utilizing the typical spring bloom; (2) T. macrura is essentially omnivorous, probably utilizing the less defined bloom situations found in oceanic waters; (3) E. crystallorophias is an omnivore well adapted to utilize both a bloom situation and to feed on ice algae and micro-zooplankton associated with the ice; (4) Calanus propinquus seems to be the most opportunistic feeder of the four species studied, probably grazing heavily on phytoplankton during a bloom and, during the rest of the year, feeding on whatever material is available, including particulates, flagellates and other ice-associated algae. We conclude that the different biochemical pathways generating large oil reserves of different compositions, enabling species to utilize different ecological niches, are major determinants of biodiversity in polar zooplankton.

The digestive enzyme trypsin is among the most extensively studied proteins, and its structure has been reported from a large number of organisms. This article focuses on the trypsins from vertebrates adapted to life at low temperatures. Cold-adapted organisms seem to have compensated for the reduced reaction rates at low temperatures by evolving more active and less temperature-stable enzymes. We have analyzed 27 trypsin sequences from a variety of organisms to find unique attributes for the cold-adapted trypsins, comparing trypsins from salmon, Antarctic fish, cod, and pufferfish to other vertebrate trypsins. Both the "cold" and the "warm" active trypsins have about 50 amino acids that are unique and conserved within each class. The main unique features of the cold-adapted trypsins attributable to low-temperature adaptation seem to be (1) reduced hydrophobicity and packing density of the core, mainly because of a lower (Ile + Leu)/(Ile + Leu + Val) ratio, (2) reduced stability of the C-terminal, (3) lack of one warm trypsin conserved proline residue and one proline tyrosine stacking, (4) difference in charge and flexibility of loops extending the binding pocket, and (5) different conformation of the "autolysis" loop that is likely to be involved in substrate binding.

The unique predominance of oleyl alcohols (18:1) is the striking characteristic of the lipids of the Antarctic euphausiid <i>Thysanoessa macrura</i>. The 2 isomers 18:1(n-9) and 18:1(n-7) occurred in similar proportions in the wax esters of <i>T. macrura</i> and comprised up to 80% of the total fatty alcohols. The remainder consisted mostly of the 20:1(n-9) alcohol along with small amounts of the 22:1(n-11) alcohol. No marine zooplankton species has previously been reported which produces wax esters with significant amounts of 18 carbon fatty alcohols. <i>T. macrura</i> specimens were collected in the high Antarctic Weddell Sea during autumn 1992 and summer 1993. Their lipid levels were high, about 40 to 50% of the dry mass with up to 70% of the total lipid as wax esters. The wax ester fatty acids were dominated by the saturates 14:0 and 16:0, which, along with the monounsaturate 18:1(n-9), accounted for more than 80% of the total fatty acids. Phospholipids contained high levels of (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (20:5 and 22:6) typical of membrane lipids from marine zooplankton. The precise significance of the unique wax ester composition in <i>T. macrura</i> is not clear but this discovery underscores the biochemical adaptability of Antarctic zooplankton species to a constantly cold and highly seasonal polar environment.

The potential of universal calibration using capillary gas chromatography combined with atomic emission detection was evaluated for several chlorine- and sulphur-containing compounds of environmental interest. The elemental responses obtained for C, H, Cl and S were found to be affected by the molecular structure. Rapid determination of several analytes was accomplished using a single calibration graph based on one randomly selected reference compound, but 10–30% errors relative to the actual concentrations were observed in several instances. The results were significantly improved by using reference compounds with structures similar to those of the analytes of interest. the practical utility of universal calibration is illustrated by the determination of pesticides in stomach oil deposits from birds living in Antarctica.

The article discusses the new concept for surgery of necrotic ulcers using the krill enzymes. The krill peptide hydrolases represent a new and important alternative to mammalian or microbial enzymes for distinctive medical applications, such as debridemen.

Development of a comprehensive picture of the genetic population structure of the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) has been hampered by a lack of genetic data from two major areas of the species' distribution, the Bellingshausen Sea and the Ross Sea. Evidence from earlier studies of a discrete “Bellingshausen Sea” population was based on anomalous allele frequencies in two sample sets that were collected near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula rather than in the Bellingshausen Sea proper. In this paper we describe the first biochemical genetic data obtained on krill from the central Bellingshausen Sea and from the Ross Sea. Analyses of eight polymorphic loci in samples from these two areas have failed to provide any evidence of population structuring within the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean, and have indicated that Pacific sector krill cannot be genetically discriminated from Atlantic sector krill or Indian Ocean sector krill. These findings further support the hypothesis of a single circumpolar breeding population of Antarctic krill.

1. Autoproteolysis post mortem was examined at 0 degree C by following the changes in the major classes of krill (Euphausia superba and Euphausia crystallorophias) proteins and by liberation of peptides and free amino acids, and was based on experiments conducted on board expedition vessels in the Antarctic. 2. Primarily salt-soluble proteins were broken down during the first week of incubation, whereas water-soluble and insoluble proteins were degraded to a much smaller extent. The enzymes responsible for the hydrolysis presumably originate primarily from the digestive apparatus of the krill. 3. In general, the individual amino acids were released at rates corresponding to their relative occurrence in the bulk protein of the krill. Alanine was liberated in larger amounts than would be expected from the composition of the krill protein, and was evidently formed also by reactions other than proteolysis. Glutamic acid, and certain amino acids which presumably occur with high frequency adjacent to glumatic acid residues in the krill protein, were liberated only to a limited extent, and accumulated in smaller peptides. 4. During proteolysis, arginine seemed to be converted to some degree into ornithine, and on prolonged incubation conversion of arginine and lysine into their corresponding decarboxylation products, agmatine and cadaverine, appeared to take place.

The Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) possesses an ‘over-dimensioned’ digestive system, which is of vital importance for the survival of this euphaucean shrimp in the extreme marine environment. The isolated enzymes contain a well-balanced mixture of both endo- and exopeptidases, assuring fast and complete breakdown of proteinaceous material. These unique properties have now been shown to be extremely valuable for the effective removal of necrotic debris, fibrin or blood crusts in vitro. Therefore the krill enzymes should be considered as an important resource in the future management of necrotic wounds.

1. The hydrolysis of casein by peptide hydrolases of Antarctic krill, E. superba, has been 2. The peptide hydrolases studied included trypsin-like enzymes, carboxypeptidase A-type of enzymes, carboxypeptidase B-type of enzymes, and an aminopeptidase isolated from Antarctic krill. 3. The trypsin-like enzymes seemed to play a decisive role in the degradation of casein, whereas the carboxypeptidase A, carboxypeptidase B and the aminopeptidase had limited effect when acting on casein alone. When combined with the trypsin-like enzymes, the exopeptidases effected enhanced release of amino acids from the protein. 4. Based on the pattern of amino acids relased from casein by a crude extract of krill, and by the isolated peptide hydrolases either alone or in combination, it is concluded that the purified peptide hydrolases examined comprise the major enzymes responsible for the autoproteolytic activity of krill at neutral- to weakly alkaline pH.

1. Two carboxypeptidase-A type of enzymes and two carboxypeptidase-B type of enzymes effecting hydrolysis of Hipp-l-Phe and Hipp-l-Arg respectively, have been purified from E. superba using gel filtration, affinity chromatography and FPLC-anion exchange chromatography. In addition an aminopeptidase has been partly purified. 2. The carboxypeptidases had mol. wts of 27,000 (carboxypeptidase A) and 31,000 (carboxypeptidase B). 3. Carboxypeptidase A exhibited a broad pH optimum with a maximum at pH 5.5–6.5, whereas carboxypeptidase B had a more narrow pH-optimum with a maximum at pH 7. The aminopeptidase had an optimum at about pH 8.7. 4. The carboxypeptidases were inhibited by the chelating agent 1,10-phenanthroline.

The response of phytoplankton to variations in the light regime was studied during the VULCAN and ACDA cruises in the Antarctic. Unenriched batch cultures of 12–19 days' duration reached chl concentrations of 10–50 μg−1 and exhibited exponential growth rates, with the maximal rate being 0.41 doubl, day−1. Ice edge algae exhibited maximum growth rates at photon flux densities (PFD) of 30–100 μE m−2S−1 and the growth rate was reduced by about 30% at 500–1000 μE m−2S−1 The chl/C ratio ranged between 0.004 and 0.018, with the lowest ratios at PFDs above 500 μE m−2S−1 chl/C ratios were also below maximum at PFDs below 40–50 μE m−2S−1 The C:N:P ratios were close to the Redfield ratios; the Si/C ratio averaged 0.16 (atoms), and the ATP/C ratio averaged from 0.0024 to 0.0050 in different culture senes. When thawed after having been frozen for 10 days, shade-adapted cultures were in a much better condition than sun-adapted ones. P versus I data showed that the maximum assimilation number varied from 0.75 to 4.4 μg C (μg chl)−1h−1. It varied inversely with the chl/C ratio; therefore the maximum carbon turnover rate varied little between samples (0.024/0.035 h−1). Low biomass communities exhibited relatively high values for α (the initial slope of P versus I curves), low values for 1sat (160–330 μE m−2S−1), and they were susceptible to photoinhibition. In contrast, communities dominated by Odontella weissflogii exhibited low values for α, a high value for Isat (560 μE m−2S−1 and they tolerated high PFDs. The photo-adaptational status of the phytoplankton in natural water samples is discussed relative to the profile of water column stability and mixing processes.

1. Three enzymes effecting hydrolysis of TAME have been purified from E. superba using gel filtration, affinity chromatography and FPLC-anion exchange chromatography. 2. The enzymes had molecular weights of 30,000 (Enzyme I), and 31,000 (Enzymes II and III), respectively, as estimated from SDS-PAGE. 3. pH-optima of about 8.2 were observed for all three enzymes. 4. The enzymes were inhibited by phenyl methyl sulphonyl fluoride (PMSF), tosyl lysyl chloromethyl ketone (TLCK) and soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI), whereas tosyl phenyl chloromethyl ketone (TPCK) had no effect on the activity. 5. The enzymes were stable at neutral pH, and only slowly inactivated at highly alkaline pH. Low pH rapidly inactivated all three enzymes. 6. Enzyme I liberated amino acids from casein, whereas Enzymes II and III did not; the latter two being true endopeptidases which effected enhanced amino acid production from casein when mixed with Enzyme I.

1. A survey has been made of the peptide hydrolase activities occurring in Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba. 2. A major protein hydrolyzing activity in the pH range of 6–8, and a minor activity at pH 3–4, were detected. 3. Temperature optima of approx. 50°C and 35–40°C, respectively were determined for the neutral and acid peptide hydrolases. 4. Trypsin-like activity, as well as carboxypeptidase A-, carboxypeptidase B-, and aminopeptidase activity were detected in extracts of krill. 5. Considerable variation in total hydrolase activity was observed in different catches of E. superba obtained from the same area. 6. The pattern of release of amino acids during autolytic breakdown of krill proteins was very similar in catches of krill exhibiting considerable differences with respect to total peptide hydrolase activity.

1. The distribution of lipid in the tissues of Euphausia superba has been examined by histological and chemical methods. 2. The total lipid content of krill from different catches may vary considerably, and the variations are probably due both to differences in nutritional status and maturity of the roe of female krill. 3. Female krill contained about twice as much lipid as male krill from the same haul. 4. The roe is the dominating lipid depot in female krill; in both male and female krill lipid-rich areas are found along the digestive tract, between muscle bundles and beneath the exoskeleton. 5. Both the phosphoglyceride- and triacylglycerol content of body fractions of E. superba varied in proportion to the total lipid content, thus supporting the contention that both phosphoglycerides and triacylglycerols serve as depot lipids in this species of krill.