Neuroendocrine involves in flesh quality degradation of Litopenaeus vannamei during waterless transport by disturbing physiological and metabolic response

<title>Abstract</title> The flesh quality degradation of shrimp during waterless transport has been observed and the underlying mechanism remains unknown. The present study aimed to clarify the biochemistry mechanisms of flesh degradation with integration of quality evaluation, metabolic profiling, and histopathological analysis. The flesh quality indicators such as water holding capacity, protein and lipid contents, amino acid composition, and myofiber characteristics degraded with the prolongation of combined stress. In addition, the metabolites including gamma-aminobutyric acid, Val-Ala, Trh and derivatives of carnitine, phosphocholine, and prostaglandin all reduced significantly under combined stress (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Furthermore, KEGG analysis discovered the enrichment of neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and estrogen signaling pathways, indicating the involvement of neuroendocrine in stress response. Moreover, architecture impairment in hepatopancreas tissue verified the accumulation of metabolic disturbance. Altogether, these findings indicate that neuroendocrine system mediates the flesh degradation of <italic>L. vannamei</italic> during waterless transport by disturbing the biochemical metabolic pathways and inducing architecture impairment on myofibril fibers.