Ontogenetic Change in Digestive Enzyme Activity of Larval and Postlarval White Shrimp Penaeus setiferus (Crustacea,...

Whole specimens of developmental stages of Penaeus setiferus (Linnaeus, 1767) were homogenized and assayed for activities of digestive enzymes. In all developmental stages, activities were present for trypsin, carboxypeptidase A and B, amylase, and non-specific esterase; none for pepsin or lipase were detected. Activities assayed with substrates for chymotrypsin and aminopeptidase are not apparently due to the presence of these enzymes in the gut. Peak activities for all enzymes occurred during late zoeal or early mysis larval stages; low activities occurred at metamorphosis. During postlarval development, amylase activity increased steadily (by a tenfold increase over five weeks), whereas most other enzyme activities were relatively constant until the fifth week of postlarval development. Although it alters enzyme activity, diet does not appear to be the primary effector of ontogenetic change in digestive enzyme activity. Instead, ontogenetic change in digestive enzyme activity may reflect either a developmentally cued change in enzyme synthesis, or a secondary effect of change in the function and relative size of the midgut during its differentiation.