Neuropeptide Diversity Encoded in Newly Sequenced Crustacean Genomes Reveals Signaling Roles during Feeding
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Neuropeptides are chemically diverse signaling molecules that regulate physiology and behavior, yet many species lack neuropeptidomic characterization due to sparse genomic annotation. Here, we integrate genomic sequence information with neuropeptidomics to define the neuropeptidomes of two widely used crustacean model organisms, Callinectes sapidus and Cancer borealis . Using a curated multispecies precursor database, tBLASTn alignment, signal peptide detection, and in silico processing, we predicted more than 23,000 putative peptides across both genomes, including numerous sequences bearing hallmarks of mature neuropeptides. Mass spectrometry-based profiling provided experimental support for many predicted peptides and revealed substantial chemical diversity, including novel allatostatin B and C isoforms, an insulin-like peptide B-chain-like isoform in C. sapidus, and the first report of natalisin peptides in C. borealis . Notably, we observed an atypical precursor architecture in which a single prohormone encoded two distinct neuropeptide families, suggesting previously unrecognized modes of neuropeptide copackaging and signaling. Finally, leveraging a feeding perturbation model, we observed tissue-specific differences in the abundance of newly identified peptides in the thoracic ganglion, commissural ganglion, and pericardial organs, consistent with functional neuroendocrine roles. Together, this work expands the known repertoire of crustacean neuropeptides, provides a resource for comparative peptide biology, and establishes a genome-enabled framework for discovery of endogenous peptide signaling molecules in newly sequenced species.
Source: ACS Chemical Neuroscience
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, National Institute on Aging, NIH Office of the Director, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Center for Research Resources, Division of Chemistry, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Awards: Acquisition of a High-Field Dual Source FTICR-MS for Pharmaceutical Research, G1803960457, G2075862466, Elucidating the Neuropeptidome Implicated in Crustacean Feeding Processes through Multiplexed Data-Independent Acquisition Mass Spectrometry, G555161754, G6688051808, Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program, G8542241506, Creating a region- specific biomolecular atlas of the brain of Alzheimer’s disease, Mass Spectrometric Studies of Neuropeptides in Feeding, Graduate Training in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, DiLeu-enabled multiplexed quantitation for biomarker discovery and validation in Alzheimer’s disease
OpenAlex ID: W7164369298