Echinoderms provide missing link in the evolution of PrRP/sNPF-type neuropeptide signalling

Neuropeptide signalling systems comprising peptide ligands and cognate receptors are evolutionarily ancient regulators of physiology and behaviour. However, there are challenges associated with determination of orthology between neuropeptides in different taxa. Orthologs of vertebrate neuropeptide-Y (NPY) known as neuropeptide-F (NPF) have been identified in protostome invertebrates, whilst prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) and short neuropeptide-F (sNPF) have been identified as paralogs of NPY/NPF in vertebrates and protostomes, respectively. Here we investigated the occurrence of NPY/NPF/PrRP/sNPF-related signalling systems in a deuterostome invertebrate phylum – the Echinodermata. Analysis of transcriptome/genome sequence data revealed loss of NPY/NPF-type signalling, but orthologs of PrRP-type neuropeptides and sNPF/PrRP-type receptors were identified in echinoderms. Furthermore, experimental studies revealed that the PrRP-type neuropeptide pQDRSKAMQAERTGQLRRLNPRF-NH₂ is a potent ligand for a sNPF/PrRP-type receptor in the starfish Asterias rubens. Our findings indicate that PrRP-type and sNPF-type signalling systems are orthologous and originated as a paralog of NPY/NPF-type signalling in Urbilateria.

10.7554/eLife.57640

2050-084X

1-23

Yañez-Guerra, Luis Alfonso

cbca947b-bbf0-4b91-96b0-4a126e3b94b6

Zhong, Xingxing

a599b69c-e186-4b5e-b662-1c3e107a6c06

Moghul, Ismail

603853aa-f288-4981-b21f-fb82c949db30

Butts, Thomas

f30ebab1-2624-41de-b32d-2461fe771c16

Zampronio, Cleidiane G.

3fd9b7c1-87d2-485a-86bf-7b8f66d53de4

Jones, Alexandra M.

81a5d813-12ce-4298-bb1a-d206c2f8c907

Mirabeau, Olivier

928933a2-7435-4052-81cb-2e482c5073cb

Elphick, Maurice R.

b4c8b4f9-bb5c-4a0a-bc9d-e941857d4800

1 June 2020

Yañez-Guerra, Luis Alfonso

cbca947b-bbf0-4b91-96b0-4a126e3b94b6

Zhong, Xingxing

a599b69c-e186-4b5e-b662-1c3e107a6c06

Moghul, Ismail

603853aa-f288-4981-b21f-fb82c949db30

Butts, Thomas

f30ebab1-2624-41de-b32d-2461fe771c16

Zampronio, Cleidiane G.

3fd9b7c1-87d2-485a-86bf-7b8f66d53de4

Jones, Alexandra M.

81a5d813-12ce-4298-bb1a-d206c2f8c907

Mirabeau, Olivier

928933a2-7435-4052-81cb-2e482c5073cb

Elphick, Maurice R.

b4c8b4f9-bb5c-4a0a-bc9d-e941857d4800

Yañez-Guerra, Luis Alfonso, Zhong, Xingxing, Moghul, Ismail, Butts, Thomas, Zampronio, Cleidiane G., Jones, Alexandra M., Mirabeau, Olivier and Elphick, Maurice R. (2020) Echinoderms provide missing link in the evolution of PrRP/sNPF-type neuropeptide signalling. eLife, 9, 1-23, [e57640]. (doi:10.7554/eLife.57640).

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Published date: 1 June 2020

Additional Information: Funding Information: The work reported in this paper was supported by grants from the BBSRC awarded to MRE (BB/ M001644/1) and AMJ (BB/M001032/1). LAYG was supported by a PhD studentship awarded by the Mexican Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT studentship no. 418612) and Queen Mary University of London and by a Leverhulme Trust grant (RPG-2016–353) awarded to MRE. XZ was supported by a PhD studentship awarded by the China Scholarship Council and Queen Mary University of London. We are grateful to Gáspár Jékely (University of Exeter) for providing the CHO-K1 (G5A) cell line used here for receptor deorphanisation assays. Funding Information: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/M001644/1 Maurice R Elphick Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/M001032/1 Alexandra M Jones CONACyT CONACyT studentship no. 418612 Luis Alfonso Yan˜ ez-Guerra Leverhulme Trust RPG-2016-353 Maurice R Elphick China Scholarship Council Xingxing Zhong. Publisher Copyright: © Yañez-Guerra et al.

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