Carotenoids and their fatty acid esters in the carapace of the spiny lobster Panulirus japonicus were investigated. Fatty acid esters of astaxanthin, adonixanthin, and pectenolone were characterized by (1)H-NMR and FAB-MS. The acylated position of adonixanthin and pectenolone monoesters was determined to be a hydroxy group at C-3' by (1)H-NMR. The fatty acids esterified with these carotenoids w...

Hemocyanins are large multi-subunit copper proteins that transport oxygen in many arthropods and mollusts. The amino acid sequence of subunit a of Panulirus interruptus hemocyanin (657 residues) has been completed and fitted to the electron-density map (3.2 A resolution). Comparison of amino acid sequence data for several different hemocyanin subunits of arthropod species indicated that the gen...

OBJECTIVES The study was designed to determine if morphine was present in lobster tissues. It was also important to determine, as in other animals, if its levels would change in response to stress. In this regard, it was also important to determine if lobster immune and neural tissues express the mu opiate receptor subtype, which was coupled to constitutive nitric oxide synthase derived nitric ...

Lobster fishing (targeting the spiny lobster Panulirus argus) is an important economic activity throughout the Wider Caribbean Region both as a source of income and employment for the local population as well as foreign exchange for national governments. Due to the high unit prices of the product, international lobster trade provides a way to improve the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent popul...