Proteomic Mapping of Allergenic Proteins Reveals Key Differences Between Black Tiger Prawn (Penaeus monodon) and White Leg Prawn (Litopenaeus vannamei)

Shellfish allergy is a major global health concern, with prawns representing the most common trigger. Black tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon, BTP) and white leg prawn (Litopenaeus vannamei, WLP) dominate global consumption. Here, label-free shotgun proteomics combined with in-silico allergenicity prediction was applied to identify and compare the allergen profiles of BTP and WLP. Raw prawn extracts were analyzed by LC-MS/MS, and allergens were identified and predicted using AllerCatPro. The relative abundance of allergens was assessed using iBAQ%, and the differential abundance was evaluated using LFQ intensity. Although allergens accounted for only ∼4% of identified proteins, they represented 34-38% of total protein abundance, highlighting their immunological relevance. Myosin light chain was the most abundant allergen, followed by arginine kinase, sarcoplasmic calcium-binding protein, and tropomyosin in both species. Four low-abundance proteins were identified as novel allergen candidates. Notable differences in allergen profiles between the two species were observed at the level of allergen orthologs, isoforms, and variants, with nine uniquely identified in BTP and seven in WLP. Together, these findings reveal species-specific variations with implications for improved diagnostic strategies, therapeutic approaches, and allergen detection methods for shellfish allergy.