Project description:Elysia crispata is a tropical sea slug Sacoglossa is a superorder of marine sea slugs, of which a few speciesthat can retain intracellular functional chloroplasts from their its algae prey, a mechanism termed kleptoplasty. Elysia crispata is a tropical species of Sacoglossa that can feed through this mechanism on and acquire chloroplasts from a variety of macroalgae. Thisese sea slugs, as other gastropods, produce mucus, a viscous secretion with multiple functions, such as lubrication, protection, and locomotion. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of the mucus proteome of the sea slug E. crispata using gel electrophoresis and HPLC-MS/MS. We identified 306 proteins in the mucus secretions of this animal, despite the limited entries for E. crispata in the Uniprot database. The reproducibility of the mucus sampling technique was evaluated revealing no significant differences in protein abundance across samples. The functional annotation of the mucus proteome using Gene Ontology identified proteins involved in different functions such as hydrolase activity (molecular function), carbohydrate-derived metabolic processes (biological processes) and cytoskeletal organization (cell component). Moreover, a high proportion of proteins with enzymatic activity in the mucus of E. crispata suggests potential biotechnological applications including antimicrobial and antitumor activities. Putative antimicrobial properties are reinforced by the high abundance of hydrolases. This study also identified proteins common in mucus samples from various species, supporting a common mechanism of mucus in protecting cells and tissues while facilitating animal movement. This study highlights the need for further research to fully understand the roles of these proteins in mucus, their potential impact on animal physiology, and the influence of genetics, and environmental factors, including the type of mucus, on protein composition and relative abundance.
