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Red color-related proteins from the shell of red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii): Isolation, identification and
Chuang Pan1, Xiaoling Liang2, Shengjun Chen1
1Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National R&D Center for Aquatic Product Processing, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510300, China.
Abstract:
Two water-soluble red color-related proteins with the molecular masses of 24 and 73 kDa were purified from the shell of Procambarus clarkii. Initial color changes of these two proteins were detected at 30 °C and the large amount of red precipitate were obtained at 80 °C. PAGE analysis showed that the 24 kDa protein was the monomer, while the 73 kDa protein was the trimer. Identification revealed that these two proteins belonged to the hemocyanin subunit 2 family. With respect to the amino acid sequence similarity, the red color-related proteins shared the highest sequence identity with the hemocyanin derived from giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii). The phylogenetic tree analysis also clearly supported this finding. The shell-derived red color-related proteins show potential use as the edible thermal-sensitive indicator in food processing field.

