Possible occurrence of diatom cell wall-derived amino acids in Okhotsk Sea sediments

Abstract

Total amino acids in marine sediments was determined by the combined use of hydrochloric acid hydrolysis (A fraction) and hydrofluoric acid treatment (B fraction). The B fraction comprised 5 to 10% of the total amino acids. The amino acid composition of B fraction indicated a characteristic feature that threonine and serine were relatively abundant. The amino acid composition of B fraction resembles that of diatom cell walls as pointed out by HECKEY et al. From this fact, it is interpreted that the B fraction originated from the diatom cell walls, not from the amino acid associated with aluminosilicate such as clay in sediments.