title: Cloning of maximakinin precursor cDNAs from Chinese toad, Bombina maxima, venom.
abstract: Using a novel technique that we have developed for cloning of amphibian skin secretion peptide cDNAs from lyophilized samples, we report here that maximakinin (DLPKINRKGP-bradykinin) is encoded by two different cDNAs, named BMK-1 and BMK-2, containing either four tandem repeat sequences or a single copy. The open reading frames of both precursor cDNAs were found to be 152 and 116 amino acid residues, respectively. These data provide evidence that the structural diversity of peptides in amphibian skin secretions arising from molecular evolutionary events, can be mediated by parallel diversity in encoding mRNAs that in itself may reflect serial gene duplications.
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Research Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: Tianbao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bjourson
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McClean
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: Edmund J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: O'Kane
authors.forename: Pingfan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shaw
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D029845:Amphibian Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019151:Peptide Library; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism; D014688:Venoms / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D029845:Amphibian Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D019151:Peptide Library; D011498:Protein Precursors; D014688:Venoms