Proteomic Analysis of the Spineless Cuttlefish Sepiella Japonica: Exploratory Analyses on the Phenomenon of Death after Spawning

Abstract

Senescence and death occur after the spawn of female cuttlefish, which results in an immense loss of reproductive resources. To better understand the physiological mechanisms involving death after spawning in Sepiella japonica (Japanese spineless cuttlefish). We used proteomic methods to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the optic glands of S. japonica at three distinct growth stages: pre-spawning after sexual maturity (group A); spawning (group B) and post-spawning before death (group C). About 955, 1000, and 1024 DEPs were identified for each comparative group analysis (i.e. group B vs A, group B vs C, and group C vs A). The gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that the function of DEPs was correlated with peptidase activity, metal-ion binding and structural molecule activity, and the majority of DEPs were involved in signal transduction and energy metabolism. It was also identified some aging-related pathways in the results of KEGG annotation. Based on previous studies of anti-aging effects in cephalopods, our study provides a new insights about the death of S. japonica after spawning at the protein level.