title: Trends in the evolution of the proopiomelanocortin gene.
abstract: The POMC gene is perhaps the most extensively studied member of the opioid/orphanin gene family. In Phylum Chordata this gene has been characterized in representatives of every class within the Gnathostomata, as well as in one representative agnathan vertebrate, the marine lamprey. This review provides a systematic overview of trends in the evolution of the melanocortins (ACTH/alpha-MSH, beta-MSH, gamma-MSH, and delta-MSH) and beta-endorphin in gnathostomes, and advances the hypothesis that the appearance of gamma-MSH occurred early in the radiation of the gnathostomes. A summary of the extensive work on POMC genes in the marine lamprey is also provided, as well as a reevaluation of the conserved regions in the sequence of CLIP (corticotropin-like-intermediate lobe peptide) in the POMC sequences of the various groups of gnathostomes.
authors.affiliation: University of Denver, Department of Biological Sciences, Denver, CO 80208, USA. rdores@du.edu
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Dores
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lecaude
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005399:Fishes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin / Q000235:genetics*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin