MALDI-MS argininyl bufadienolide esters fingerprint from parotoid gland secretions of Rhinella arenarum : age, gender and seasonal variation

JUNGBLUT, LUCAS D.; PETROSELLI, GABRIELA; POZZI, ANDREA G.; RAICES, MARILINA; ERRA-BALSELLS, ROSA

JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY

JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD

Lugar: LOndres; Año: 2018 vol. 53 p. 465 - 475

1076-5174

In many amphibians, the granular glands can be grouped in special regions forming macroglands. This is the case of toads, characterized by the presence of a pair of parotoid macroglands, strategically located to give protection by poison release in case of attacks. The product secreted consists of a wide variety of chemical compounds including proteins, peptides, biogenic amines, toxic steroidal bufadienolides, various alkaloids, depending on the species. In this work, using Rhinella arenarum we have performed, for the first time, the MALDI-MS and MS/MS characterization of the components of the secretion used as crude material, just suspended in MeOH (or MeCN). The crude sample as a whole (whole suspension), was spotted on the MALDI plate for analysis. ESI-Orbitrap was used for cross-checking experiments. The pattern of signals obtained at m/z ranges 600-800 and 1200-1600 could be assigned as the argininyl bufadienolide esters fingerprint characteristic of female and male. Variation patterns for gender (female, male), age (non-reproductive, reproductive) and season (non-reproductive, reproductive) are described.