This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Research Data All Versions of this Article: gr.6714008v1 18/1/113    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Li, B. Articles by Park, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Li, B. Articles by Park, Y. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Letter

Genomics, transcriptomics, and peptidomics of neuropeptides and protein hormones in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum

¹ Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-4004, USA; ² Institute of Zoology, University of Jena, D-07743 Jena, Germany; ³ Center for Functional and Comparative Insect Genomics and Department of Cell Biology and Comparative Zoology, Institute of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; ⁴ National Institute of Agrobiological Science, Division of Insect Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8634, Japan; ⁵ Department of Biochemistry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-4004, USA; ⁶ Department of Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, University of Leuven, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium; ⁷ Department of Animal Physiology, University of Marburg, D-35032 Marburg, Germany

Neuropeptides and protein hormones are ancient molecules that mediate cell-to-cell communication. The whole genome sequence from the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, along with those from other insect species, provides an opportunity to study the evolution of the genes encoding neuropeptide and protein hormones. We identified 41 of these genes in the Tribolium genome by using a combination of bioinformatic and peptidomic approaches. These genes encode >80 mature neuropeptides and protein hormones, 49 peptides of which were experimentally identified by peptidomics of the central nervous system and other neuroendocrine organs. Twenty-three genes have orthologs in Drosophila melanogaster: Sixteen genes in five different groups are likely the result of recent gene expansions during beetle evolution. These five groups contain peptides related to antidiuretic factor-b (ADF-b), CRF-like diuretic hormone (DH37 and DH47 of Tribolium), adipokinetic hormone (AKH), eclosion hormone, and insulin-like peptide. In addition, we found a gene encoding an arginine-vasopressin-like (AVPL) peptide and one for its receptor. Both genes occur only in Tribolium and not in other holometabolous insects with a sequenced genome. The presence of many additional osmoregulatory peptides in Tribolium agrees well with its ability to live in very dry surroundings. In contrast to these extra genes, there are at least nine neuropeptide genes missing in Tribolium, including the genes encoding the prepropeptides for corazonin, kinin, and allatostatin-A. The cognate receptor genes for these three peptides also appear to be absent in the Tribolium genome. Our analysis of Tribolium indicates that, during insect evolution, genes for neuropeptides and protein hormones are often duplicated or lost.

E-mail ypark{at}ksu.edu; fax (785) 532-6232.

[Supplemental material is available online at www.genome.org.]

Article published online before print. Article and publication date are at http://www.genome.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gr.6714008

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Stafflinger, K. K. Hansen, F. Hauser, M. Schneider, G. Cazzamali, M. Williamson, and C. J. P. Grimmelikhuijzen Cloning and identification of an oxytocin/vasopressin-like receptor and its ligand from insects PNAS, March 4, 2008; 105(9): 3262 - 3267. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]