title: Signaling pathways and physiological functions of Drosophila melanogaster FMRFamide-related peptides.
abstract: FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs) contain a C-terminal RFamide but unique N-terminal extensions. They are expressed throughout the animal kingdom and affect numerous biological activities. Like other animal species, Drosophila melanogaster contains multiple genes that encode different FaRPs. The ease of genetic manipulations, the availability of genomic sequence data, the existence of established bioassays, and its short lifespan make D. melanogaster a versatile experimental organism in which to investigate peptide processing, functions, and signal transduction pathways. Here, the structures, precursor organizations, distributions, and activities of FaRPs encoded by D. melanogaster FMRFamide (dFMRFamide), myosuppressin (Dms), and sulfakinin (Dsk) genes are reviewed, and predictions are made on their signaling pathways and biological functions.
authors.affiliation: Biological Chemistry Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0606, USA. nicholsr@umich.edu
authors.forename: Ruthann
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nichols
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D019835:FMRFamide / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D017344:Genes, Insect; D007301:Insect Hormones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D007301:Insect Hormones; D009479:Neuropeptides; C050024:leucosulfakinin; C077905:neomyosuppressin; D019835:FMRFamide