Metabolic pathways of ammoniogenesis in the shrimp Crangon crangon L.: possible role of glutamate dehydrogenase.

The oxidative deamination of glutamate by glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) was determined in crude homogenates of the shrimp Crangon crangon. The GDH activity of whole shrimps (1.192 +/- 0.164 UI/g wet wt and 0.032 +/- 0.004 UI mg protein) (+/- SD) is probably sufficient to account for all the ammonia excretion of this species. Starvation markedly influenced GDH activity. A 50% decrease of GDH activity was observed following 7 days of fasting but subsequently no further decrease in GDH activity was noticed during starvation up to a maximum of 17 days.