title: Isolation and primary structure of a novel avian pancreatic polypeptide from five species of Eurasian crow.
abstract: Chicken pancreatic polypeptide is the prototype of the neuropeptide Y (NPY)/PP superfamily of regulatory peptides. This polypeptide was appended the descriptive term avian, despite the presence of some 8600 extant species of bird. Additional primary structures from other avian species, including turkey, goose and ostrich, would suggest that the primary structure of this polypeptide has been highly-conserved during avian evolution. Avian pancreatic polypeptides structurally-characterised to date have distinctive primary structural features unique to this vertebrate group including an N-terminal glycyl residue and a histidyl residue at position 34. The crow family, Corvidae, is representative of the order Passeriformes, generally regarded as the most evolutionarily recent and diverse avian taxon. Pancreatic polypeptide has been isolated from pancreatic tissues from five representative Eurasian species (the magpie, Pica pica; the jay, Garrulus glandarius; the hooded crow, Corvus corone; the rook, Corvus frugilegus; the jackdaw, Corvus monedula) and subjected to structural analyses. Mass spectroscopy estimated the molecular mass of each peptide as 4166 +/- 2 Da. The entire primary structures of 36 amino acid residue peptides were established in single gas-phase sequencing runs. The primary structures of pancreatic polypeptides from all species investigated were identical: APAQPAYPGDDAPVEDLLRFYNDLQQYLNVVTRPRY. The peptides were deemed to be amidated due to their full molar cross-reactivity with the amide-requiring PP antiserum employed. The molecular mass (4165.6 Da), calculated from the sequences, was in close agreement with mass spectroscopy estimates. The presence of an N-terminal alanyl residue and a prolyl residue at position 34 differentiates crow PP from counterparts in other avian species.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Comparative Neuroendocrinology Research Group, School of Clinical Medicine, Queen's University of Belfast, UK.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Halton
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Maule
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Curry
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Verhaert
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thim
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010179:Pancreas / Q000737:chemistry; D010191:Pancreatic Polypeptide / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D010191:Pancreatic Polypeptide