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Free Dissolved Enzymes in Lake Waters

Abstract

THERE has been much discussion about the release of enzymes from living or dead organisms in lake and sea water, and their subsequent participation in chemical transformations1–5. There is, however, little and only incomplete evidence of detectable amounts of free enzymes which are still active in bodies of water. In particular, some authors attribute a catalytic role to free dissolved phosphatases in the hydrolysis of phosphate esters by natural waters6–10. This communication reports investigations of free phosphatases in the waters of eutrophic lakes, including Pluss-See near Ploen, with special reference to their ecological importance.

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REICHARDT, W., OVERBECK, J. & STEUBING, L. Free Dissolved Enzymes in Lake Waters. Nature 216, 1345–1347 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/2161345a0

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