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Effects of heavy metals on enzyme synthesis in substrate-amended river sediments

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Summary

The effects of heavy metals in diverse substrateamended river sediments were studied. Cd2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+ generally had a marked inhibitory effect on the synthesis of amylase, cellulase and urease, on numbers of substrate-hydrolysing bacteria, in all sediments studied. Inhibition increased with increasing metal concentration, and amylase was particularly sensitive. Pb2+ generally had the least effect. We conclude that enzyme synthesis measurements are useful in determining the effects of heavy metals on the degradation of organic pollutants in river sediments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, Sheffield, England

    M. Wainwright & J. E. Duddridge

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  1. M. Wainwright
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  2. J. E. Duddridge
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Wainwright, M., Duddridge, J.E. Effects of heavy metals on enzyme synthesis in substrate-amended river sediments. European J. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 15, 241–245 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00499964

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00499964

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