The role of metabolic nitrogen in coral calcification

Abstract

When pieces of the staghorn coral Acropora acuminata are incubated with 14C-urea, the label is incorporated into skeletal carbonate. Incorporation of this label differs from that of H14CO3-, suggesting urea is not immediately hydrolysed to provide a further source of HCO3-. The effects of certain organic substrates upon calcification suggest the ornithine cycle is involved. Citrulline, an ornithine cycle intermediate, is found in high concentrations in the tissues of hermatypic corals. Urea, allantoins, NH3 and arginine are also present. These compounds are barely detectable in zooxanthellae or an ahermatypic coral. The allantoins may be present as calcium salts. It is suggested that allantoins are the medium by which Ca2+ and CO2 are transported to sites of calcification. Hydrolysis of urea, formed by breakdown of allantoins, yields CO2 and NH3. The NH3 may neutralise protons formed during precipitation of CaCO3 and bring about their removal from sites of calcification. As well as providing urea, the ornithine cycle may also be involved in the removal of NH3 from sites of calcification.