Kinetic Analysis of Protein Degradation by a Freshwater Wetland Sediment Community

Abstract

The mineralization of proteins by the sediment microflora of a freshwater wetland conformed to a kinetic model developed for polymer degradation. The maximum velocity of protein mineralization ranged from 2,078 to 147 nmol of protein cm −3 h −1 from May to October. The turnover time of protein was 13 to 69 h. A statistical comparison of the kinetic parameters by the standard error of the estimate demonstrated that protein degradation exhibited significant random fluctuations throughout the growing season. These fluctuations were related to changes in the concentration of readily degradable protein as estimated by K t . Utilization of amino acids was 9 to 57 times greater than the utilization of protein, and the turnover time for amino acids was 1.6 to 3.7 h.