Genome-wide analyses reveal a role for peptide hormones in planarian germline development.

ABSTRACT: Bioactive peptides (i.e., neuropeptides or peptide hormones) represent the largest class of cell-cell signaling molecules in metazoans and are potent regulators of neural and physiological function. In vertebrates, peptide hormones play an integral role in endocrine signaling between the brain and the gonads that controls reproductive development, yet few of these molecules have been shown to influence reproductive development in invertebrates. Here, we define a role for peptide hormones in controlling reproductive physiology of the model flatworm, the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. Based on our observation that defective neuropeptide processing results in defects in reproductive system development, we employed peptidomic and functional genomic approaches to characterize the planarian p

SUBMITTER: Collins JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2953531 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature