Investigation of unknown pheromone-like peptides of the marine cephalopod Nautilus pompilius L. by mass spectrometry

摘要

The marine tetrabranchiate cephalopod Nautilus pompilius L. inhabits waters around coral reefs in the western pacific. For communicating with potential partners, Nautilus pompilius uses a small pheromonelike peptide of unknown amino acid sequence. MALDI and ESI mass spectrometry of tissue extracts and of secretions from the proboscis-like gland of the non gene-sequenced Nautilus pompilius allowed us to detect a small number of abundant peptides, one of which was chosen for a detailed analysis. Physiological tests with Nautilus pompilius regarding peptide activity are ongoing. LTQ-FTICR-MS combined with Composition-based sequencing (CBS) will be employed in the future to identify the primary sequence of the investigated peptides.