Neuropeptidomics of the American Lobster Homarus americanus

The American lobster, Homarus americanus, is not only of considerable economic importance but has also emerged
as a premier model organism in neuroscience research. Neuropeptides,
an important class of cell-to-cell signaling molecules, play crucial
roles in a wide array of physiological and psychological processes.
Leveraging the recently sequenced high-quality draft genome of the
American lobster, our study sought to profile the neuropeptidome of
this model organism. Employing advanced mass spectrometry techniques,
we identified 24 neuropeptide precursors and 101 unique mature neuropeptides
in Homarus americanus. Intriguingly,
67 of these neuropeptides were discovered for the first time. Our
findings provide a comprehensive overview of the peptidomic attributes
of the lobster’s nervous system and highlight the tissue-specific
distribution of these neuropeptides. Collectively, this research not
only enriches our understanding of the neuronal complexities of the
American lobster but also lays a foundation for future investigations
into the functional roles that these peptides play in crustacean species.
The mass spectrometry data have been deposited in the PRIDE repository
with the identifier PXD047230.