Cell-free extracellular enzymatic activity is linked to seasonal temperature changes in the Baltic Sea
Abstract. Extracellular enzymatic activities (EEA) are a crucial step on the degradation of organic matter. Dissolved (cell-free) extracellular enzymes in seawater can make up a significant contribution of the bulk EEA. However, the factors controlling the proportion of dissolved EEA in the marine environment remain unknown. Here we studied the seasonal changes in the proportion of dissolved relative to total EEA (of alkaline phosphatase [APase], β-glucosidase, [BGase], and leucine aminopeptidase, [LAPase]), in the Baltic Sea for 18 months. The proportio n of dissolved EEA ranged between 37-100%, 0-100%, 34-100% for APase, BGase and LAPase, respectively. A consistent seasonal pattern in the proportion of dissolved EEA was found among all the studied enzymes, with values up to 100% during winter and <40% du ring summer. A significant negative relation was found between the 21proportion of dissolved EEA and temperature, indicating that temperature might be a critical factor controlling the proportion of dissolved relative to total EEA in marine environments. Our results suggest a strong decoupling of hydrolysis rates from mi crobial dynamics in cold waters. This implies that under cold conditions, cell-free enzymes can contribute to substrate availability at large distances from the producing cell, increasing the dissociation between the hydrolysis of organic compounds and the actual microbes producing the enzymes. This also indicates that global warming could come to affect the hydrolysis of organic matter by reducing the hydrolytic activity of cell-free enzymes.