Neuropeptides and their precursors in the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster

Neuropeptides form the most diverse class of chemical messenger molecules in metazoan nervous systems. They are usually generated from biosynthetic precursor polypeptides by enzymatic processing and modification. Many different peptides belonging to a number of distinct neuropeptide families have already been characterized from various insect species. The Drosophila Genome Sequencing Project has important implications for the future of neurobiological research. This paper describes the discovery of several new fruitfly neuropeptides by an in silico data mining approach. In addition, the state-of-the-art of Drosophila peptide research is reviewed.