The intermediate lobe of the pituitary contains the alpha-amidated peptide alpha-melanotropin and high levels of a copper and ascorbate-dependent peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) capable of converting peptides terminating in -X-Gly into amidated products (-X-NH2). As reported previously, the ability of cultured intermediate pituitary cells to produce alpha-amidated alpha-mela...

The first member of the RF-amide peptide superfamily to be characterized, in 1977, was the cardioexcitatory peptide, FMRFamide, isolated from the ganglia of the clamMacrocallista nimbosa (1). Since then, a large number of such peptides, designated after their C-terminal arginine (R) and amidated phenylalanine (F) residues, have been identified in representative species of all major phyla. The d...

Chloroplast transit peptides from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have been analyzed and compared with chloroplast transit peptides from higher plants and mitochondrial targeting peptides from yeast, Neurospora and higher eukaryotes. In terms of length and amino acid composition, chloroplast transit peptides from C. reinhardtii are more similar to mitochondrial targetting peptides than...

From the culture broth of the filamentous fungus Trichoderma parceramosum, strain CBS 936.69, a mixture of polypeptide antibiotics (pepaibiotics), named trichobrachin (TB), was isolated. Three major groups designated TB I, TB II, and TB III could be separated and isolated by preparative TLC on silica gel. Individual peptides of these three groups were sequenced by on-line LC/ESI-MS(n). The mixt...

The distribution, primary structure, and relative biological activity of neuromedin U has been determined from the frog Rana temporaria. Following sequential column chromatography of a gastrointestinal extract, the peptide was sufficiently pure to enable characterization by micro-sequence analysis. The entire sequence was found to be an icosapentapeptide which displays marked sequence similarit...

Peptides with sequence similarities to members of the tachykinin family have been identified in a number of invertebrates belonging to the mollusca, echiuridea, insecta and crustacea. These peptides have been designated tachykinin-related peptides (TRPs) and are characterized by the preserved C-terminal pentapeptide FX1GX2Ramide (X1 and X2 are variable residues). All invertebrate TRPs are myost...