The Gly-Asp-Ser-Leu (GDSL) motif of esterase/lipase family proteins (GELPs) generally exhibit est... more The Gly-Asp-Ser-Leu (GDSL) motif of esterase/lipase family proteins (GELPs) generally exhibit esterase activity, whereas transferase activity is markedly preferred in several GELPs, including the Tanacetum cinerariifolium GDSL lipase TciGLIP, which is responsible for the biosynthesis of the natural insecticide, pyrethrin I. This transferase activity is due to the substrate affinity regulated by the protein structure and these features are expected to be conserved in transferase activity-exhibiting GELPs (tr-GELPs). In this study, we identified two amino acid residues, [N/R]208 and D484, in GELP sequence alignments as candidate key residues for the transferase activity of tr-GELPs by two-entropy analysis. Molecular phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that each tr-GELP is located in the clusters for non-tr-GELPs, and most GELPs conserve at least one of the two residues. These results suggest that the two conserved residues are required for the acquisition of transferase activity in the...
The evolutionary origins of neurons remain unknown. Although recent genome data of extant early-b... more The evolutionary origins of neurons remain unknown. Although recent genome data of extant early-branching animals have shown that neural genes existed in the common ancestor of animals, the physiological and genetic properties of neurons in the early evolutionary phase are still unclear. Here, we performed a mass spectrometry-based comprehensive survey of short peptides from early-branching lineages Cnidaria, Porifera and Ctenophora. We identified a number of mature ctenophore neuropeptides that are expressed in neurons associated with sensory, muscular and digestive systems. The ctenophore peptides are stored in vesicles in cell bodies and neurites, suggesting volume transmission similar to that of cnidarian and bilaterian peptidergic systems. A comparison of genetic characteristics revealed that the peptide-expressing cells of Cnidaria and Ctenophora express the vast majority of genes that have pivotal roles in maturation, secretion and degradation of neuropeptides in Bilateria. F...
Omics studies contribute to the elucidation of genomes and profiles of gene expression. In the as... more Omics studies contribute to the elucidation of genomes and profiles of gene expression. In the ascidian Ciona intestinalis Type A (Ciona robusta), mass spectrometry (MS)-based peptidomic studies have detected numerous Ciona-specific (nonhomologous) neuropeptides as well as Ciona homologs of typical vertebrate neuropeptides and hypothalamic peptide hormones. Candidates for cognate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for these peptides have been found in the Ciona transcriptome by two ways. First, Ciona homologous GPCRs of vertebrate counterparts have been detected by sequence homology searches of cognate transcriptomes. Second, the transcriptome-derived GPCR candidates have been used for machine learning-based systematic prediction of interactions not only between Ciona homologous peptides and GPCRs but also between novel Ciona peptides and GPCRs. These data have ultimately led to experimental evidence for various Ciona peptide-GPCR interactions. Comparative transcriptomics between t...
Lignans are widely distributed plant secondary metabolites that have received attention for their... more Lignans are widely distributed plant secondary metabolites that have received attention for their benefits to human health. Sesamin is a furofran lignan that is conventionally extracted from Sesamum seeds and shows anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in the human liver. Sesamin is biosynthesized by the Sesamum-specific enzyme CYP81Q1, and the natural sources of sesamin are annual plants that are at risk from climate change. In contrast, Forsythia species are widely distributed perennial woody plants that highly accumulate the precursor lignan pinoresinol. To sustainably supply sesamin, we developed a transformation method for Forsythia leaf explants and generated transgenic Forsythia plants that heterologously expressed the CYP81Q1 gene. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and LC-mass spectrometry analyses detected sesamin and its intermediate piperitol in the leaves of two independent transgenic lines of F. intermedia and F. koreana. We also detected the accumul...
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a neuroendocrine peptide that plays a central role in th... more Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a neuroendocrine peptide that plays a central role in the vertebrate hypothalamo-pituitary axis. The roles of GnRH in the control of vertebrate reproductive functions have been established, while its non-reproductive function has been suggested but less well understood. Here we show that the tunicate Ciona intestinalis has in its non-reproductive larval stage a prominent GnRH system spanning the entire length of the nervous system. Tunicate GnRH receptors are phylogenetically closest to vertebrate GnRH receptors, yet functional analysis of the receptors revealed that these simple chordates have evolved a unique GnRH system with multiple ligands and receptor heterodimerization enabling complex regulation. One of the gnrh genes is conspicuously expressed in the motor ganglion and nerve cord, which are homologous structures to the hindbrain and spinal cord of vertebrates. Correspondingly, GnRH receptor genes were found to be expressed in the tai...
The plant Tanacetum coccineum (painted daisy) is closely related to Tanacetum cinerariifolium (py... more The plant Tanacetum coccineum (painted daisy) is closely related to Tanacetum cinerariifolium (pyrethrum daisy). However, T. cinerariifolium produces large amounts of pyrethrins, a class of natural insecticides, whereas T. coccineum produces much smaller amounts of these compounds. Thus, comparative genomic analysis is expected to contribute a great deal to investigating the difference in biological defense systems, including pyrethrin biosynthesis. Here, we elucidated the 9.4-Gb draft genome of T. coccineum, consisting of 2,836,647 scaffolds and 103,680 genes. Comparative analyses of the draft genome of T. coccineum and that of T. cinerariifolium, generated in our previous study, revealed distinct features of T. coccineum genes. While the T. coccineum genome contains more numerous ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP)-encoding genes, the number of higher-toxicity type-II RIP-encoding genes is larger in T. cinerariifolium. Furthermore, the number of histidine kinases encoded by the T....
Ascidians are the closest living relatives of vertebrates, and their study is important for under... more Ascidians are the closest living relatives of vertebrates, and their study is important for understanding the evolutionary processes of oocyte maturation and ovulation. In this study, we first examined the ovulation of Ciona intestinalis Type A by monitoring follicle rupture in vitro, identifying a novel mechanism of neuropeptidergic regulation of oocyte maturation and ovulation. Ciona vasopressin family peptide (CiVP) directly upregulated the phosphorylation of extracellular signal–regulated kinase (CiErk1/2) via its receptor. CiVP ultimately activated a maturation-promoting factor, leading to oocyte maturation via germinal vesicle breakdown. CiErk1/2 also induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase (CiMMP2/9/13) in the oocyte, resulting in collagen degradation in the outer follicular cell layer and liberation of fertile oocytes from the ovary. This is the first demonstration of essential pathways regulating oocyte maturation and ovulation in ascidians and will facilitate invest...
Cholecystokinin (CCK) and gastrin are vertebrate brain–gut peptides conserving a sulfated tyrosin... more Cholecystokinin (CCK) and gastrin are vertebrate brain–gut peptides conserving a sulfated tyrosine residue and a C-terminally amidated tetrapeptide consensus sequence. The Ciona intestinalis homolog, cionin, shares the C-terminal consensus and harbors two sulfated tyrosines. Two cognate cionin receptors, CioR1 and -2, have been cloned and shown to stimulate intracellular calcium mobilization in response to cionin. These receptors are distributed in the cerebral ganglion, digestive tract, oral and atrial l siphons, and ovary. Cionin exhibits CCK/gastrin-like activity in vertebrate tissues, while the biological functions of cionin await further study.
Ci-TKs are at present the only invertebrate authentic tachykinins (TKs), given that they share th... more Ci-TKs are at present the only invertebrate authentic tachykinins (TKs), given that they share the complete TK C-terminal consensus and serve as brain–gut peptides and peptide hormones. Ci-TK receptor, Ci-TK-R, is a Class A G protein-coupled receptor with high sequence identity to vertebrate TK receptors, and induces intracellular calcium mobilization in the presence of Ci-TKs and mammalian TKs. A striking feature is that Ci-TK-I specifically enhances follicle growth from the vitellogenic stage to post-vitellogenic stages via upregulation of gene expression and enzymatic activity of cathepsin D, carboxypeptidase B1, and chymotrypsin.
Cholecystokinin (CCK) and gastrin are vertebrate brain-gut peptides featured by a sulfated tyrosi... more Cholecystokinin (CCK) and gastrin are vertebrate brain-gut peptides featured by a sulfated tyrosine residue and a C-terminally amidated tetrapeptide consensus sequence. Cionin, identified in the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, the closest species to vertebrates, harbors two sulfated tyrosines and the CCK/gastrin consensus tetrapeptide sequence. While a putative cionin receptor, cior, was cloned, the ligand-receptor relationship between cionin and CioR remains unidentified. Here, we identify two cionin receptors, CioR1 and CioR2, which are the aforementioned putative cionin receptor and its novel paralog respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CioRs are homologous to vertebrate CCK receptors (CCKRs) and diverged from a common ancestor in the Ciona-specific lineage. Cionin activates intracellular calcium mobilization in cultured cells expressing CioR1 or CioR2. Monosulfated and nonsulfated cionin exhibited less potent or no activity, indicating that CioRs possess pharmacologic...
The Gly-Asp-Ser-Leu (GDSL) motif of esterase/lipase family proteins (GELPs) generally exhibit est... more The Gly-Asp-Ser-Leu (GDSL) motif of esterase/lipase family proteins (GELPs) generally exhibit esterase activity, whereas transferase activity is markedly preferred in several GELPs, including the Tanacetum cinerariifolium GDSL lipase TciGLIP, which is responsible for the biosynthesis of the natural insecticide, pyrethrin I. This transferase activity is due to the substrate affinity regulated by the protein structure and these features are expected to be conserved in transferase activity-exhibiting GELPs (tr-GELPs). In this study, we identified two amino acid residues, [N/R]208 and D484, in GELP sequence alignments as candidate key residues for the transferase activity of tr-GELPs by two-entropy analysis. Molecular phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that each tr-GELP is located in the clusters for non-tr-GELPs, and most GELPs conserve at least one of the two residues. These results suggest that the two conserved residues are required for the acquisition of transferase activity in the...
The evolutionary origins of neurons remain unknown. Although recent genome data of extant early-b... more The evolutionary origins of neurons remain unknown. Although recent genome data of extant early-branching animals have shown that neural genes existed in the common ancestor of animals, the physiological and genetic properties of neurons in the early evolutionary phase are still unclear. Here, we performed a mass spectrometry-based comprehensive survey of short peptides from early-branching lineages Cnidaria, Porifera and Ctenophora. We identified a number of mature ctenophore neuropeptides that are expressed in neurons associated with sensory, muscular and digestive systems. The ctenophore peptides are stored in vesicles in cell bodies and neurites, suggesting volume transmission similar to that of cnidarian and bilaterian peptidergic systems. A comparison of genetic characteristics revealed that the peptide-expressing cells of Cnidaria and Ctenophora express the vast majority of genes that have pivotal roles in maturation, secretion and degradation of neuropeptides in Bilateria. F...
Omics studies contribute to the elucidation of genomes and profiles of gene expression. In the as... more Omics studies contribute to the elucidation of genomes and profiles of gene expression. In the ascidian Ciona intestinalis Type A (Ciona robusta), mass spectrometry (MS)-based peptidomic studies have detected numerous Ciona-specific (nonhomologous) neuropeptides as well as Ciona homologs of typical vertebrate neuropeptides and hypothalamic peptide hormones. Candidates for cognate G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for these peptides have been found in the Ciona transcriptome by two ways. First, Ciona homologous GPCRs of vertebrate counterparts have been detected by sequence homology searches of cognate transcriptomes. Second, the transcriptome-derived GPCR candidates have been used for machine learning-based systematic prediction of interactions not only between Ciona homologous peptides and GPCRs but also between novel Ciona peptides and GPCRs. These data have ultimately led to experimental evidence for various Ciona peptide-GPCR interactions. Comparative transcriptomics between t...
Lignans are widely distributed plant secondary metabolites that have received attention for their... more Lignans are widely distributed plant secondary metabolites that have received attention for their benefits to human health. Sesamin is a furofran lignan that is conventionally extracted from Sesamum seeds and shows anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in the human liver. Sesamin is biosynthesized by the Sesamum-specific enzyme CYP81Q1, and the natural sources of sesamin are annual plants that are at risk from climate change. In contrast, Forsythia species are widely distributed perennial woody plants that highly accumulate the precursor lignan pinoresinol. To sustainably supply sesamin, we developed a transformation method for Forsythia leaf explants and generated transgenic Forsythia plants that heterologously expressed the CYP81Q1 gene. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and LC-mass spectrometry analyses detected sesamin and its intermediate piperitol in the leaves of two independent transgenic lines of F. intermedia and F. koreana. We also detected the accumul...
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a neuroendocrine peptide that plays a central role in th... more Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a neuroendocrine peptide that plays a central role in the vertebrate hypothalamo-pituitary axis. The roles of GnRH in the control of vertebrate reproductive functions have been established, while its non-reproductive function has been suggested but less well understood. Here we show that the tunicate Ciona intestinalis has in its non-reproductive larval stage a prominent GnRH system spanning the entire length of the nervous system. Tunicate GnRH receptors are phylogenetically closest to vertebrate GnRH receptors, yet functional analysis of the receptors revealed that these simple chordates have evolved a unique GnRH system with multiple ligands and receptor heterodimerization enabling complex regulation. One of the gnrh genes is conspicuously expressed in the motor ganglion and nerve cord, which are homologous structures to the hindbrain and spinal cord of vertebrates. Correspondingly, GnRH receptor genes were found to be expressed in the tai...
The plant Tanacetum coccineum (painted daisy) is closely related to Tanacetum cinerariifolium (py... more The plant Tanacetum coccineum (painted daisy) is closely related to Tanacetum cinerariifolium (pyrethrum daisy). However, T. cinerariifolium produces large amounts of pyrethrins, a class of natural insecticides, whereas T. coccineum produces much smaller amounts of these compounds. Thus, comparative genomic analysis is expected to contribute a great deal to investigating the difference in biological defense systems, including pyrethrin biosynthesis. Here, we elucidated the 9.4-Gb draft genome of T. coccineum, consisting of 2,836,647 scaffolds and 103,680 genes. Comparative analyses of the draft genome of T. coccineum and that of T. cinerariifolium, generated in our previous study, revealed distinct features of T. coccineum genes. While the T. coccineum genome contains more numerous ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP)-encoding genes, the number of higher-toxicity type-II RIP-encoding genes is larger in T. cinerariifolium. Furthermore, the number of histidine kinases encoded by the T....
Ascidians are the closest living relatives of vertebrates, and their study is important for under... more Ascidians are the closest living relatives of vertebrates, and their study is important for understanding the evolutionary processes of oocyte maturation and ovulation. In this study, we first examined the ovulation of Ciona intestinalis Type A by monitoring follicle rupture in vitro, identifying a novel mechanism of neuropeptidergic regulation of oocyte maturation and ovulation. Ciona vasopressin family peptide (CiVP) directly upregulated the phosphorylation of extracellular signal–regulated kinase (CiErk1/2) via its receptor. CiVP ultimately activated a maturation-promoting factor, leading to oocyte maturation via germinal vesicle breakdown. CiErk1/2 also induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase (CiMMP2/9/13) in the oocyte, resulting in collagen degradation in the outer follicular cell layer and liberation of fertile oocytes from the ovary. This is the first demonstration of essential pathways regulating oocyte maturation and ovulation in ascidians and will facilitate invest...
Cholecystokinin (CCK) and gastrin are vertebrate brain–gut peptides conserving a sulfated tyrosin... more Cholecystokinin (CCK) and gastrin are vertebrate brain–gut peptides conserving a sulfated tyrosine residue and a C-terminally amidated tetrapeptide consensus sequence. The Ciona intestinalis homolog, cionin, shares the C-terminal consensus and harbors two sulfated tyrosines. Two cognate cionin receptors, CioR1 and -2, have been cloned and shown to stimulate intracellular calcium mobilization in response to cionin. These receptors are distributed in the cerebral ganglion, digestive tract, oral and atrial l siphons, and ovary. Cionin exhibits CCK/gastrin-like activity in vertebrate tissues, while the biological functions of cionin await further study.
Ci-TKs are at present the only invertebrate authentic tachykinins (TKs), given that they share th... more Ci-TKs are at present the only invertebrate authentic tachykinins (TKs), given that they share the complete TK C-terminal consensus and serve as brain–gut peptides and peptide hormones. Ci-TK receptor, Ci-TK-R, is a Class A G protein-coupled receptor with high sequence identity to vertebrate TK receptors, and induces intracellular calcium mobilization in the presence of Ci-TKs and mammalian TKs. A striking feature is that Ci-TK-I specifically enhances follicle growth from the vitellogenic stage to post-vitellogenic stages via upregulation of gene expression and enzymatic activity of cathepsin D, carboxypeptidase B1, and chymotrypsin.
Cholecystokinin (CCK) and gastrin are vertebrate brain-gut peptides featured by a sulfated tyrosi... more Cholecystokinin (CCK) and gastrin are vertebrate brain-gut peptides featured by a sulfated tyrosine residue and a C-terminally amidated tetrapeptide consensus sequence. Cionin, identified in the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, the closest species to vertebrates, harbors two sulfated tyrosines and the CCK/gastrin consensus tetrapeptide sequence. While a putative cionin receptor, cior, was cloned, the ligand-receptor relationship between cionin and CioR remains unidentified. Here, we identify two cionin receptors, CioR1 and CioR2, which are the aforementioned putative cionin receptor and its novel paralog respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CioRs are homologous to vertebrate CCK receptors (CCKRs) and diverged from a common ancestor in the Ciona-specific lineage. Cionin activates intracellular calcium mobilization in cultured cells expressing CioR1 or CioR2. Monosulfated and nonsulfated cionin exhibited less potent or no activity, indicating that CioRs possess pharmacologic...
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