Egg Hatching, Peptide Pheromones, and Endoproteinases in Barnacles.

ABSTRACT: The striped barnacle, Amphibalanus amphitrite, is a simultaneous hermaphrodite crustacean that broods eggs. The eggs are physically and enzymatically cleaned in the mantle by the barnacle to manage biofouling during incubation. There is no physiological connection between the embryos and the adult. Instead, barnacles use enzyme products as pheromones to coordinate behavioral, physiological, and biochemical processes involved in egg hatching and larval release. Known larval release pheromones are peptides generated by exogenous trypsins that act on proteins. We characterized barnacle brooding endoproteinases using a proteomic analysis of peptides generated from the hydrolysis of pure proteins that were identified by high-resolution LC electrospray MS/MS. Utilizing pure proteins permi

SUBMITTER: Bolger D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12691806 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature