Proteolytic activity in some freshwater animals and associated microflora in a wide pH range.

Proteolytic activity in some freshwater animals (crustacean plankton, sandhopper Amphipoda sp., larvae of chironomids Chironomus sp., oligochaetes Oligohaeta sp., dreissena Dreissena polymorpha, roach Rutilus rutilus heckelii, rudd Scardinius erythrophthalmus, ruff Acerina cernua, and monkey goby Neogobius fluviatilis) prevailing within the food of fishes of various ecological groups as well as in their associated microflora in a wide pH range was investigated. It has been shown that the optimum pH of proteases in the animals' whole organism varies: 6.0 for sandhopper; 8.0 for chironomid larvae, oligochaetes, monkey goby, and ruff; 8.0-9.0 for zooplankton; and 10.0 for roach and rudd. The optimum pH of associated microflora proteases is 6.0 for monkey goby; 7.0 for sandhopper and roach and ruff ; 8.0-9.0 for oligochaetes; 9.0 for zooplankton; and 10.0 for chironomid larvae and rudd. The compensatory role of food items and enteric microbiota proteases in digestive processes in fish of different ecological groups at low pH is discussed.