Comparative proteome and peptidome analysis of the cephalic fluid secreted by Arapaima gigas (Teleostei: Osteoglossidae) during and outside parental care

PLoS One. 2017 Oct 24;12(10):e0186692. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186692. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Parental investment in Arapaima gigas includes nest building and guarding, followed by a care provision when a cephalic fluid is released from the parents' head to the offspring. This fluid has presumably important functions for the offspring but so far its composition has not been characterised. In this study the proteome and peptidome of the cephalic secretion was studied in parental and non-parental fish using capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS) and GeLC-MS/MS analyses. Multiple comparisons revealed 28 peptides were significantly different between males and parental males (PC-males), 126 between females and parental females (PC-females), 51 between males and females and 9 between PC-males and PC-females. Identification revealed peptides were produced in the inner ear (pcdh15b), eyes (tetraspanin and ppp2r3a), central nervous system (otud4, ribeye a, tjp1b and syn1) among others. A total of 422 proteins were also identified and gene ontology analysis revealed 28 secreted extracellular proteins. From these, 2 hormones (prolactin and stanniocalcin) and 12 proteins associated to immunological processes (serotransferrin, α-1-antitrypsin homolog, apolipoprotein A-I, and others) were identified. This study provides novel biochemical data on the lateral line fluid which will enable future hypotheses-driven experiments to better understand the physiological roles of the lateral line in chemical communication.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal*
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Electrophoresis, Capillary
  • Female
  • Fishes / metabolism*
  • Fishes / physiology
  • Male
  • Peptides / metabolism*
  • Proteome*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Substances

  • Peptides
  • Proteome

Grants and funding

This project was partly supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply through CNPq (Grants. N. 457465/2012-3 and 434400/2016-5) to Lucas Simon Torati, by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service SEBRAE (FAPTO Grant N. 2538/2012) to Lucas Simon Torati, and by the National Department for Works Against the Droughts -DNOCS to Pedro E.C. Mesquita. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and Mosaiques Diagnostics GmbH provided support in the form of salaries to LT and JS, respectively, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. MD acknowledges funding from the European Regional Development Fund, Scottish Funding Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.