Use of Dissolved Amino Acids by the Foraminifer Notodendrodes antarctikos

• Published in: American Zoologist
• Main Author: DELACA, TED E.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 1982
• Subjects: THE ROLE OF UPTAKE OF ORGANIC SOLUTES IN NUTRITION OF MARINE ORGANISMS; Ross Sea; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/22/3/683; https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/22.3.683

SYNOPSIS. Foraminifera are a ubiquitous and sometimes numerically important component of benthic communities. This paper discusses the role of free amino acids in the nutrition of Notodendrodes antarctikos , a large arborescent foraminifer from an oligotrophic embayment of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. The effects of temperature and substrate concentrations suggest a carrier mediated transport system which facilitates the accumulation of a wide variety of free amino acids at concentrations found in the interstitial waters of its sedimentary habitat. Involvement of isotopically labeled amino acids in the metabolism of this organism is discussed.