Molecular evolution of the neuropeptide Y (NPY) family of peptides: cloning of three NPY-related peptides from the sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax).
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a 36-amino-acid peptide that is widely and abundantly expressed in the central nervous system of all vertebrates investigated. Related peptides have been found in various vertebrate groups: peptide YY (PYY) is present in gut endocrine cells of many species and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) is made in the pancreas of all tetrapods. In addition, a fish pancreatic peptide called PY has been reported in three species of fishes. The evolutionary relationships of fish PY have been unclear and it has been proposed to be the orthologue (species homologue) of each of the three tetrapod peptides. We demonstrate here with molecular cloning techniques that the sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), an acanthomorph fish, has orthologues of both NPY and PYY as well as a separate PY peptide. Sequence comparisons suggest that PY arose as a copy of the PYY gene, presumably in a duplication event separate from the one that generated PP from PYY in tetrapods. PY sequences from four species of fish indicate that, similar to PP, PY evolves much more rapidly than NPY and PYY. The physiological role of PY is unknown, but we demonstrate here that sea bass PY, like NPY and PYY but in contrast to the tetrapod PP, is expressed in brain.
Cerdá-Reverter
J M
JM
Department of Fish Reproduction, Institute of Aquaculture from Torre de la Sal, CSIC, Ribera de Cabanes, 12595 Torre de la Sal, Castellón, Spain.
Martínez-Rodríguez
G
G
Zanuy
S
S
Carrillo
M
M
Larhammar
D
D
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001492:Bass / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D019894:Peptide YY / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014982:Xenopus laevis
D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D019894:Peptide YY