title: Vasotocin and isotocin precursors from the white sucker, Catostomus commersoni: cloning and sequence analysis of the cDNAs.
abstract: The nucleotide sequences of cloned cDNAs encoding the precursors for vasotocin and isotocin have been elucidated by analyzing a lambda gt11 library constructed from poly(A)+ RNA from the hypothalamic region of the teleost fish Catostomus commersoni. Screening of the library was carried out with synthetic oligonucleotide probes deduced from the amino acid sequences of the nonapeptides vasotocin and isotocin. The cDNA nucleotide sequences predict isotocin and vasotocin prohormone precursors each consisting of a signal peptide, a hormone moiety, and a neurophysin-like molecule. However, in comparison to their mammalian counterparts, both fish neurophysins are extended at their C termini by an approximately 30 amino acid sequence with a leucine-rich core segment. These extensions show striking similarities with the glycopeptide moiety (the so-called copeptin) present in mammalian vasopressin precursors, except that they lack the consensus sequence for N-glycosylation. These data suggest that mammalian copeptin is derived from the C terminus of an ancestral neurophysin.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zellbiochemie und Klinische Neurobiologie, Universitäts-Krankenhaus Eppendorf, Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heierhorst
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Morley
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Figueroa
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Krentler
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lederis
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Richter
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D005399:Fishes / Q000235:genetics*; D005784:Gene Amplification; D005796:Genes; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000235:genetics; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014668:Vasotocin / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D011498:Protein Precursors; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D010121:Oxytocin; C008215:isotocin; D004247:DNA; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D014668:Vasotocin