BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2015, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 285-289

A variation in the content of lactate and alanine in the coelomic fluid of the sea urchin Mesocentrotus nudus (A. Agassiz, 1864) (Echinoidea: Strongylocentrotidae) indicates anaerobic glycolysis

© 2015 K. A. Drozdov¹, A. L. Drozdov^{2, 3}

¹G.B. Elyakov Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690022;
²A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690041;
³Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok 690091

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By using the method of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, lactic acid, alanine, and aspartate have been revealed in the coelomic fluid of the black sea urchin Mesocentrotus nudus, which indicates anaerobic metabolism in echinoderms. Energy metabolism of this type is intensified in stressful situations when the inflow of oxygen into cells becomes insufficient. This compensatory response of energy metabolism is an important mechanism of adaptation to changing environmental conditions.

Key words: lactate, alanine, coelomic fluid, sea urchin Mesocentrotus nudus, glycolysis.