Chemical induction of feeding in California spiny lobster,Panulirus interruptus (Randall): : Responses to molecular weight fractions of abalone.

Molecular weight fractions of abalone muscle were tested for the ability to induce appetitive feeding and locomotor behavior in the spiny lobster,Panulirus interruptus. Fractions of <1000, 1000-10,000 and >10,000 daltons were isolated by ultrafiltrations and gel chromatography from a seawater extract of abalone muscle. The two lower-molecular-weight fractions (<1000, 1000-10,000) were the least stimulatory of the three fractions tested, and both were ineffective as feeding stimulants. Solutions combining any two of the three isolated fractions produced behavioral activity equal to that caused by whole extract; thus, no single fraction was essential to the stimulatory capacity of abalone. The >1000-dalton fraction was also highly stimulatory, meaning that large and not small molecules were essential in initiating feeding. Finally, a 75% ethanol-insoluble component of the <10,000 fraction was effective, while the ethanol-soluble portion was not. Since the insoluble material consisted predominantly of peptides and polypeptides, it is probable that these molecules act as principal stimulants in abalone muscle.