Chitinase, e x o -N -a c e t y l -~-D -g l y c o s a m i n i d a s e (NAGase) and lysozyme activities were assayed in the digestive tract of 6 species of marine fishes: Myxine glutinosa (cyclostome) , Chimaera monstrosa (holocephalan) , Squalus acanthias, Etmopterus spinax, Raja radiata (elasmobranchs) and Coryphaenoides rupestris (teleost). Strong chitinase activity was found in the gastric mucosa of the elasmobranchs (s. acanthias, E. spina• andR. radiata) and the teleost (Coryphaenoides rupestris). A r e m a r k a b l y high chitinase activity occurred in the pancreas of the stomachless holocephalan fish Chimaera monstrosa. N A G a s e activity was strong in the digestive tract of all species. It could be concluded that marine fishes with diets consisting largely of chitinous invertebrates may display high chitinase and N A G a s e activities in their digestive system; however, only low chitinase activity was found in the intestine of the cyclostome Myxine glutinosa. Coryphaenoides rupestris gastric mucosa chitinase had one optimum activity at pH 1.25, whereas s. acanthias chitinase had two optima, at pH 1.6 and 3.6. The NAGase pH-activity curves from S. acanthias and R. radiata gastric mucosa displayed similar optima, at pH 4.5 and 4.25 respectively.
Chimaera monstrosa pancreatic chitinase had a very strong optimum around pH 8 to IOr and one less strong at pH 3. These enzyme activities could not be separated by gel filtration or isoelectric focusing. The pI (isoelectric point) was a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4.9 for both enzymes. The molecular weight of the c. monstrosa pancreatic chitinase was estimated to be approximately 43 OOO. Lysozyme activity was absent or extremely weak in the material studied.