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Polyps, peptides and patterning
Author(s) -
Bosch Thomas C.G.,
Fujisawa Toshitaka
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.1060
Subject(s) - lernaean hydra , biology , neuropeptide , microbiology and biotechnology , peptide , signal transduction , cell signaling , cell , genetics , biochemistry , receptor
Abstract Peptides serve as important signalling molecules in development and differentiation in the simple metazoan Hydra . A systematic approach ( The Hydra Peptide Project ) has revealed that Hydra contains several hundreds of peptide signalling molecules, some of which are neuropeptides and others emanate from epithelial cells. These peptides control biological processes as diverse as muscle contraction, neuron differentiation, and the positional value gradient. Signal peptides cause changes in cell behaviour by controlling target genes such as matrix metalloproteases. The abundance of peptides in Hydra raises the question of whether, in early metazoan evolution, cell–cell communication was based mainly on these small molecules rather than on the growth‐factor‐like cytokines that control differentiation and development in higher animals. BioEssays 23:420–427, 2001. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.