Proteomic analysis of sarcoplasmic peptides of two related fish species for food authentication

Detection of species-specific sarcoplasmic peptides can be used as proteomic markers for fish food authentication and identification of species of origin in processed products. In the present study, proteomics technology was employed for differential characterization of sarcoplasmic peptides of two closely related fish species, Sperata seenghala and Sperata aor. Species-specific peptides were searched in white muscle extracts of the two species for identification of unique peptides that might aid in differentiation of the species, under two-dimensional gel electrophoresis platform. A total of 19 proteins were identified by combined matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, of which nine and two proteins were found to be unique to S. seenghala and S. aor, respectively. One of the proteins, triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) was found to have three isoforms, out of which two were specific to S. aor, and one was specific to S. seenghala. All the three isoforms of TPI were present in the mixed samples of raw protein extracts of S. seenghala and S. aor, an observation that can be exploited to differentiate between the species and detection of deceptive practices of fraudulent substitution of commercially valuable fish species with inferior ones and differential characterization between closely related fish species.