Moult inhibiting hormone: a new approach to the discovery and design of growth promoters in crustaceans?

摘要

Several chemicals have been tested as growth promoters in aquaculture but they cannot be endorsed for commercial processes due to their residual effects in the body of prawns, lobsters and crabs. The concern over environmental hazard, human health and food safety have led to a search for alternative growth promoters significantly to improve the growth of crustaceans with no such effects. Neurohormones, regulatory signalling molecules of crustaceans that coordinate multiple developmental and physiological processes, are major determinants underlying phenotypic integration. Competitive inhibitors for the moult inhibiting hormone receptor are expected to have a direct growth promoting effect on crustaceans by direct involvement in interference with the receptor in the Y-organ, which can cause a surge the production of ecdysteroids. Competitive inhibitors therefore can be regarded as growth promoters in crustacean fishery in addition to various other benefits. This review emphasizes the manifold effects of moult inhibiting hormone, a most versatile animal hormone, with an emphasis on the target sites and competitive inhibition.