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

由陆地径流引起的海水富营养化似乎改变了冲绳的珊瑚礁生态系统。然而，到目前为止，还没有任何措施来评估其对造礁珊瑚的生理影响。该研究项目的一个主要目标是在生化基础上找到富营养化生理影响的定量测量方法。本研究针对胁迫条件下活性氮类物质（RNS）的不受控制的产生，试图用简单的方法对硝化生物分子进行定量。我们认为，羟基自由基产生的芬顿反应释放硝基从其母体化合物，并产生硝酸根离子，可以定量与离子色谱技术，一种新的方法来评估氮毒性。

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.