title: Mass spectrometric analysis of head ganglia and neuroendocrine tissue of larval Galleria mellonella (Arthropoda, Insecta).
abstract: A brain-retrocerebral complex-subesophageal ganglion acidified methanolic extract of 100 larval Galleria mellonella (greater wax moth) was prepared for the isolation and identification of (neuro)peptides. To reduce sample complexity, the isolated peptides were roughly separated using a single, conventional chromatographic separation step. Subsequently, screening of these fractions with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry in combination with nanoflow electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry resulted in the identification of 12 lepidopteran peptides. None of these had been previously isolated or characterized within this species. VIFTPKLamide encoded by the diapause hormone-pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide precursor was for the first time isolated and biochemically identified in a tissue extract, providing irrefutable evidence of its expression in larval nervous tissue. Another pentapeptide, AMVRFamide, with no resemblance to other lepidopteran peptides, was de novo sequenced and is most related to the neuropeptide F peptide family.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Developmental Physiology, Genomics and Proteomics, K.U. Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. jurgen.huybrechts@bio.kuleuven.ac.be
authors.forename: Jurgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huybrechts
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Verleyen
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schoofs
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D017952:Ganglia, Invertebrate / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D017344:Genes, Insect; D006257:Head; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D007705:Kinins / Q000032:analysis; D007814:Larva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009036:Moths / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000032:analysis; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D007705:Kinins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D009842:Oligopeptides; C076523:allatostatin; C060602:corazonin protein, insect; C066148:phenylalanyl-leucyl-arginyl phenylalaninamide