The molecular evolution of neuropeptides: prospects for the '90s
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 13, 2026

Sample Preparation and Relative Quantitation using Reductive Methylation of Amines for Peptidomics Studies
Published on: November 4, 2021
R M Dores1, L K McDonald, T C Steveson
1University of Denver, Department of Biological Sciences, Colorado.
Abstract:
Three distinct opioid precursors have been identified in the central nervous system of mammals: proopiomelanocortin (POMC), proenkephalin, and prodynorphin. These precursors are derived from separate genes, synthesized in distinct neurons, and yield unique sets of opioid end products. This review will discuss the general mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis of neuropeptide precursors and consider the roles of posttranscriptional and posttranslational processing mechanisms in the generation of multiple sets of end products from a single gene. In addition, techniques that can be used for isolating and characterizing neuropeptide genes, mRNAs, and end products will be reviewed. These introductory comments will serve as the framework for a discussion of the phylogeny of the opioid precursors in the major groups of non-mammalian vertebrates.
Related Concept Videos
Peptide Bonds
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?
In contrast, regions which code...
Signal Sequences and Sorting Receptors
Eukaryotic Evolution
Contrary to the endosymbiont theory, the eukaryote-first hypothesis proposes that the simpler prokaryotic and...
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes
Evolution of Microbial Genome

