Origin of chordate peptides by horizontal protozoan gene transfer in early metazoans and protists: Evolution of the teneurin C-terminal associated peptides (TCAP)

Characterization of the teneurin C-terminal associated peptide (TCAP) in the vase tunicate, Ciona intestinalis: A novel peptide system associated with energy metabolism and reproduction

“…In the C. intestinalis testis, TCAP-immunoreactivity was localized to the basement membrane and luminal regions of the testis (Fig. 5E-H) similar to that reported in the rat testes (Chand et al, 2013b). Similarly, the C. intestinalis sperm duct, an area that is, in part, homologous to the mouse epididymis, localized TCAP to or near the basement membrane ( Fig.…”

Ancient interaction between the teneurin C-terminal associated peptides (TCAP) and latrophilin ligand-receptor coupling: a role in behavior

“…It was subsequently determined that fluoresceinisothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled mouse TCAP-1 with lysine substitutions for arginine residues 8 or 37 (FITC-K8/37-mTCAP-1) showed significant co-localization with immunoreactive β-dystroglycan although an association with α-dystroglycan was equivocal. However, although FITC-K37-mTCAP-1 was internalized into the cell via clathrin-independent but caveolin-associated vesicle transport, no co-labeling of this TCAP-1 analog with either of the dystroglycan subunits could be discerned (Chand et al, 2013 ). These findings were partially resolved when TCAP-1 and teneurin-1 was investigated in the mouse testes.…”

Teneurin C-terminal associated peptides (TCAP): modulators of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) physiology and behavior

“…This high level of conservation indicates that this family of peptides evolved before the protostome-deuterostome divergence and that its role implicates a functional necessity for organisms. The teneurin-TCAP system likely evolved by horizontal gene transfer from a prokaryote gene to a choanoflagellate (Zhang et al, 2012), where subsequently this gene integrated within the choanoflagellate genome and was passed into subsequent metazoan speciation (Tucker et al, 2012; Chand et al, 2013; Tucker, 2013). Moreover, there is 13–30% similarity with various peptides and the CRF family of peptides (Wang et al, 2005; Lovejoy et al, 2006) (Figure 2).…”

“…Moreover, there is 13–30% similarity with various peptides and the CRF family of peptides (Wang et al, 2005; Lovejoy et al, 2006) (Figure 2). This level of sequence similarity, along with the peptide and mRNA size suggests that there may be a common origin in evolutionary history with the CRF peptides, although the evolutionary relationship between the lineages is not understood (Chand et al, 2013; de Lannoy and Lovejoy, in press). …”