Isolation and characterization of collagen from rhizostomous jellyfish (Rhopilema asamushi)

As a part of the study into the potential development of unused and under-used resources, collagen was isolated from the mesogloea of the rhizostomous jellyfish, Rhopilema asamushi, by limited pepsin digestion and characterized. The yield of this collagen was high (35.2% on a dry weight basis). The primary structure was very similar to that of pepsin-solubilized collagen from edible jellyfish mesogloea, but it was different from those of the collagen from edible jellyfish exumbrella and the acid-soluble collagen from its mesogloea. The denaturation temperature (Td) of 28.8°C. This collagen contained a large amount of a fourth subunit that was provisionally designated α4. This collagen may have the chain composition of an α1α2α3α4 heterotetramer.