Molecular evolution of the neuropeptide Y (NPY) family of peptides: cloning of three NPY-related peptides from the sea bass ( Dicentrarchus labrax)

• Published in: Regulatory peptides Vol. 95; no. 1; pp. 25 - 34
• Main Authors: Cerdá-Reverter, J.M, Martı́nez-Rodrı́guez, G, Zanuy, S, Carrillo, M, Larhammar, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 24.11.2000; Amsterdam Elsevier
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Bass - genetics; Biological and medical sciences; Biological evolution; Cloning, Molecular; Consensus Sequence; Evolution; Evolution, Molecular; Fish; Fish pancreatic peptide Y (PY); Fishes; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene duplication; Gene expression; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Humans; Mammals; Molecular Sequence Data; Neuropeptide Y - chemistry; Neuropeptide Y - genetics; Neuropeptide Y - physiology; Pancreatic polypeptide (PP); Peptide YY (PYY); Peptide YY - chemistry; Peptide YY - genetics; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Sequence Alignment; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Xenopus laevis; Evolution; Fish; Gene duplication; Gene expression; Pancreatic polypeptide (PP); Peptide YY (PYY); Fish pancreatic peptide Y (PY); Neuropeptide Y; Pancreatic hormone; Neuropeptide; Marine environment; Molecular evolution; Vertebrata; Pancreatic polypeptide; Pisces; Dicentrarchus labrax; Molecular cloning; YY peptide
• ISSN: 0167-0115; 1873-1686
• DOI: 10.1016/S0167-0115(00)00132-4

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.