A simple assay for chitin application to sediment trap samples from the subarctic Pacific

Abstract

Chitin is thought to be abundant in marine environments, but examination of the role of chitin in nutrient cycling has been hampered by the lack of an adequate assay for measuring concentrations at ambient levels. We developed a simple assay using the lectin, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), which has an affinity for the N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) residues found in chitin. The specificity of the assay was confirmed by enzymatic hydrolysis with chitinase and competitive inhibition with chitotriose.