Histidine-containing dipeptides (HCDs) have been demonstrated with important physiological functions in vertebrates. This study was executed to investigate the contents and metabolic profiles of HCDs in an invertebrate, the mussel Mytilus coruscus was selected. The carnosine/anserine analysis indicated that M. coruscus contain anserine with a higher concentration than that of carnosine, and the increases in HCDs concentrations due to β-alanine injection and carnosine injection were observed, confirming that Mytilus belongs to a species with the ability of HCDs synthesis. Further metabolomics analysis was performed based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry technology to explore the effects of β-alanine injection and carnosine injection, respectively, on the whole mussel tissue. A total of 1,868 significantly differential metabolites (SDMs) were detected between the β-alanine injected, carnosine injected, and the control M. coruscus groups. The SDMs induced by β-alanine injection were enriched mainly in energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism of mussel, while carnosine injection mainly disrupted arachidonic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and retinol metabolism in the mussel. The activities of antioxidant enzymes from the whole mussel tissue extracts before and after β-alanine/carnosine injection were measured, and both treatments showed significant elevation of enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Considering the positive effects of β-alanine injection on mussel metabolism, this study provided a clue for the potential application of β-alanine supplementation in mussel farming.

已证明含组氨酸的二肽 (HCD) 在脊椎动物中具有重要的生理功能。本研究旨在调查无脊椎动物中 HCD 的含量和代谢特征，选择了贻贝贻贝。肌肽/鹅肌肽分析表明，M. coruscus含有比肌肽浓度更高的鹅肌氨酸，并且观察到由于注射 β-丙氨酸和肌肽导致的 HCDs 浓度增加，证实了Mytilus属于具有合成HCDs能力的物种。基于超高效液相色谱-串联质谱技术进行进一步代谢组学分析，分别探讨β-丙氨酸注射液和肌肽注射液对整个贻贝组织的影响。在注射的 β-丙氨酸、注射的肌肽和对照M. coruscus之间共检测到 1,868 种显着差异代谢物 (SDM)组。β-丙氨酸注射诱导的SDM主要富集贻贝的能量代谢、脂质代谢和氨基酸代谢，而肌肽注射主要破坏贻贝的花生四烯酸代谢、类固醇激素生物合成和视黄醇代谢。测量了β-丙氨酸/肌肽注射前后整个贻贝组织提取物的抗氧化酶活性，两种处理均显示过氧化物歧化酶和过氧化氢酶的酶活性显着提高。考虑到β-丙氨酸注射液对贻贝代谢的积极影响，本研究为补充β-丙氨酸在贻贝养殖中的潜在应用提供了线索。