Meeting Abstract
Peptidases are hydrolases that cleave peptide bonds within protein chains. In arthropods, the cleavage of specific proteins by proteases has pivotal roles in multiple physiological processes including oogenesis, immunity, nutrition, and parasitic invasion; these enzymes are also key players in larval development, well-described triggers of molting and metamorphosis, as well as fat body dissociation and tissue remodeling. Penaeus vannamei is a Penaeid shrimp and a key species for the aquaculture industry, but descriptions of the molecular mechanisms of many important physiological conditions including larval development are rather poor. Penaeid shrimp undergo a biphasic life cycle, meaning pelagic larvae stages followed by benthonic juvenile and adult stages. Larvae develop gradually and each stage presents morphological, physiological and ecological adaptations that fulfill its locomotive and feeding changes. In this work the proteolytic profile along the larvae development of P. vannamei was determined at transcript and activity levels, we quantified the gene expression of 21 annotated shrimp peptidases by qPCR. Since changes in mRNA abundance do not necessarily correlates with the corresponding mature protein products, the proteolytic activity was also assessed using fluorogenic substrates designed to be recognized by 13 specific peptidases, the data presented here will contribute to understand the proteolytic dynamics occurring during P. vannamei larvae development.
