title: Proteomic characterization of mucosal secretions in the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica.
abstract: The soft body surface of marine invertebrates is covered by a layer of mucus, a slippery gel secreted by mucocytes lining epithelia. The functions of this gel are diverse including locomotion, cleansing, food particles processing and defense against physicochemical injuries and infectious agents. In oysters, mucus covering pallial organs has been demonstrated to have a major importance in the processing of food particles and in the interactions with waterborne pathogens. Given the limited information available on mucus in bivalves and the apparent wide spectra of activity of bioactive molecules present in this matrix, the characterization of these mucosal secretions has become a research priority. In this study, mucus was separately collected from the mantle, gills and labial palps of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and analyzed by liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed the presence of a wide variety of molecules involved in host-microbe interactions, including putative adhesion molecules (e.g. c-type lectins) confirming that transcripts previously identified in epithelial cells are translated into proteins secreted in mucus. Mucus composition was different among samples collected from different organs. These results generate a reference map for C. virginica pallial mucus to better characterize the various physiological functions of mucosal secretions.
authors.affiliation: School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000, United States. Electronic address: Emmanuelle.PalesEspinosa@stonybrook.edu.
authors.forename: Emmanuelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pales Espinosa
authors.affiliation: Proteomics Center, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8691, United States.
authors.forename: Antonius
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koller
authors.affiliation: School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5000, United States.
authors.forename: Bassem
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Allam
mesh_terms: D060105:Animal Shells / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D009093:Mucus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010125:Ostreidae / Q000378:metabolism*; D020543:Proteome / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020543:Proteome
keywords: Bivalve; Mass spectrometry; Mucus; Pallial cavity; Proteomic