Phosphatases of echinoderms and bivalve mollusks of the Japan and Okhotsk seas

Thirty-five species of far-eastern marine invertebrates have been studied as potential sources of phosphatases. The enzymatic activities of acid (ACP) and alkaline (ALP) phosphatases within the gonads and digestive organs were investigated in 7 species of mollusks and 28 species of echinoderms. Significant variability of the enzymatic activity was revealed within different groups of the marine organisms. It was shown that the activity of the ACPs in the bodies of all the studied animals was higher than that of the ALPs. For the first time an attempt was made to search for cysteine-containing and salt resistant ALPs in marine invertebrates. ALPs that retain their activity in seawater were found in the gonads and digestive organs of sea urchins, as well as in the digestive organs of the starfish Henricia sp. The presence of cysteine ALPs was detected in the gonads of four sea urchin species and the starfish Ceramaster patagonicus . Among the studied echinoderms, cysteine-containing and salt resistant ALPs were found only in mature oocytes and the gonads of sea urchins; this is probably related to the peculiarities of the oogenesis process in sea urchins.