Divergence of duplicate POMC genes in gilthead sea bream Sparus auratus

Proopiomelanocorticotrophin (POMC) in vertebrates is produced in the pituitary gland and undergoes post-translational processing to give rise to a range of biologically active peptides. Teleosts possess 2–3 different POMC transcripts which have been proposed to have originated from a whole or partia...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cardoso, João (author)
Other Authors: Laiz-Carrión, R. (author), Louro, Bruno (author), Silva, Nádia (author), Canario, Adelino V. M. (author), Mancera, J. M. (author), Power, Deborah (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/3833
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:sapientia.ualg.pt:10400.1/3833
Description
Summary:Proopiomelanocorticotrophin (POMC) in vertebrates is produced in the pituitary gland and undergoes post-translational processing to give rise to a range of biologically active peptides. Teleosts possess 2–3 different POMC transcripts which have been proposed to have originated from a whole or partial genome duplication. In the present study 2 transcripts of gilthead sea bream POMC (sbPOMC-a1 and a2) were cloned and characterised. sbPOMC-a1 is expressed principally in the melanotroph cells of the pars intermedia (PI) and sbPOMC-a2 is expressed in the corticotroph cells of the rostral pars distalis and probably also in the PI. The 2 sbPOMC transcripts have a differential tissue distribution in extra-pituitary sites. An appraisal of POMC evolution indicates sbPOMCs belong to one of the two main clades that exist in teleosts and that overall a non conservative process of gene loss occurred in this infraclass.