Chitin was first discovered by its name from the Greek word "chiton", which means "mail coat". It is indeed a polysaccharide made up of naturally occurring acetyl-D-glucosamine monomers. Hatchett was the first researcher who extracted chitin from the shells of mollusks (crabs and lobsters), prawns, and crayfish in 1799. Later in 1811, Henri Braconnot discovered chitin in the cell walls of mushrooms and called it "fungine". Chitin and chitosan are abundant in the biosphere as essential components of many organisms' exoskeletons and as by-products of the global seafood industry. The biopolymer must be deacetylated before chitosan can be produced. It can also be extracted using microbes in a biological extraction procedure. The development of products that take advantage of the bioactivities of the existing primary commercial source of chitin (crustacean) has lagged expectations. Also, the disadvantages of the present commercial source such as seasonality and competition for other uses among others has been one of the driving forces towards seeking alternative sources of chitin and chitosan in nature. This review highlights some of the efforts made by environmental scholars to locate possible commercial sources of chitin and chitosan in nature over time.
Study on the microscopic composition of biofloc in closed hatchery culture system was carried out to determine the interaction between the aggregation flocs in the bioremediation process for the decomposition and degradation of organic matter loaded in the shrimp culture tanks. The study was done for 105 days of culture period in zero water exchange. All of the organic loaded in the culture tanks identified comes from the shrimp feces, uneaten fed, and the decomposed macro-and microorganisms died in the culture tanks. All of the microscopic organisms in the biofloc were identified using Advance microscopes Nikon 80i. From the present study, there were abundances and high varieties of phytoplankton, zooplankton, protozoa, nematodes and algae species identified as aggregates together in the flocs accumulation. All of these microscopic organisms identified implemented the symbiotic process together for food supply, become the algae grazer, act as natural water stabilizer in regulating the nutrients in culture tank and serve as decomposer for dead organic matter in the water environment. Heterotrophic bacteria identified from Pseudomonas and Aeromonas family consumed the organic matter loaded at the bottom of culture tank and converted items through chemical process as useful protein food to be consumed back by the shrimp. Overall it can be concluded that the biofloc organisms identified really contributed as natural bioremediation agents in zero water exchange culture system to ensure the water quality in the optimal condition until the end of culture period.
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