The inhibition of a coral carbonic anhydrase ( CA, EC 4.2.1.1) has been investigated with a series of inorganic anions such as halogenides, pseudohalogenides, bicarbonate, carbonate, nitrate, nitrite, hydrogen sulfide, bisulfite, perchlorate, sulfate. The full-length scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata CA, STPCA, has a significant catalytic activity for the physiological reaction of CO2 hydration to bicarbonate, similarly to the ubiquitous human isoforms hCA I ( cytosolic) and hCA VI ( secreted). The best STPCA anion inhibitors were bromide, iodide, carbonate, and sulfamate, with inhibition constants of 9.0-10.0 mu M. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.