ENZYME-ACTIVITIES FOLLOWING CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO CRUDE-OIL IN A SIMULATED ECOSYSTEM .2. STRIPED MULLET

Enzyme activities were investigated in brain, gill, liver, and muscle homogenates from striped mullet which had been exposed to crude oil for 10 months in a simulated estuarine ecosystem. Enzymes assayed included acetylcholinesterase, alkaline phosphatase, β-glucuronidase, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, lactic dehydrogenase, and malic dehydrogenase. Few seasonal trends in enzyme activities were observed. Alterations in some enzyme activities, particularly acetylcholinesterase, β-glucuronidase, and malic dehydrogenase, may have reflected physiological changes in the mullet resulting from stress. In general, there were few chronic alterations in mullet enzyme activities resulting from the oil spill. © 1979.