Development of new assay for evaluating chronic effects of eutrophication in coral reefs

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Eutrophication of seawater caused by run-off from land appears to change the reef ecosystems in Okinawa. Until now, however, there has been no measure to assess its physiological impact on reef-building corals. A major objective of this research project was to find a quantitative measure for the physiological impact of eutrophication on a biochemical basis. Focusing on uncontrolled production of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) under stress conditions, this study attempted to quantify nitrated biomolecules with simple procedures. We suggest that hydroxyl radical generated by the Fenton reaction liberates nitro group from its parent compounds and produces nitrate ion that can be quantified with ion chromatography technique, a novel method to evaluate nitrogen toxicity.