NanoLC-MS/MS sequencing and in silico analysis of bioactive peptides from Lusitanian toadfish halobatrachus didactylus body mucus

• Author(s): Cunha, Marta Fernandez ; Coscueta, Ezequiel R. ; Brassesco, María Emilia ; Almada, Frederico ; Gonçalves, David ; Pintado, Manuela
• Date: 2024
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/48103
• Origin: Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
• Document Type: Conference object
• Language: English
• Contributor(s): Veritati

Description

The mucus covering a fish's body works as a protective barrier and contains molecules, such as antimicrobial peptides, that defend against pathogens. In this study, two adult Halobatrachus didactylus were captured from the wild in Sesimbra, and mucus was collected by scraping the dorsal-lateral body with a sponge. Our objective was to identify new bioactive peptides in mucus samples via chromatography. SE-HPLC revealed a prominent peak at 775 Dalton. The mucus samples were pooled, fractionated, and analyzed by nanoLC-MS/MS. Database identification was unreliable, so de novo sequencing with PEAKS Studio was used, resulting in five peptides selected for their predicted bioactivities.