DISTRIBUTION OF ALPHA-N-ACETYLGALACTOSAMINASE AMONG MARINE AND FRESH-WATER MICROORGANISMS

We studied the distribution of alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminases among 85 6 strains of marine and 423 strains of fresh-water microorganisms livi ng in a free state in water and ground or in association with sponges, echinoderms, and mollusks in the areas of the Pacific Ocean and Lake Baikal. About 24% of the marine and fresh-water strains studied contai ned alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminase. The largest number of producers of this enzyme was found in marine bacteria of the genera Aeromonas, Alte romonas-Pseudomonas, and Vibrio (71, 60, and 60%, respectively), and i n Baikal microorganisms of the Aeromonas and Bacillus genera (40 and 3 1%, respectively). alpha-N-Acetylgalactosaminase was not found in mari ne arthrobacters, Flexibacter-Cetophaga, Rhodococcus, and the Baikal M icrococcus and Rhodococcus. Strains that were promising sources of the enzyme were found among the alteromonads and bacilli.