Abstract
Red-pigment-concentrating hormone (RPCH) has been isolated from nerve tissue of six decapod crustaccan species. The primary structure of three of the six hormones, i.e., those ofCancer magister, Carcinus maenas andOrconectes limosus, was determined by manual microsequencing as: pELNFSPGW-NH2. This sequence is identical to that of RPCH fromPandalus borealis, the only previously known sequence of a crustacean RPCH. The other three hormones fromLiocarcinus puber, Nephrops norvegicus, andPacifastacus leniusculus could not be characterized completely. However, amino acid compositions, the presence of N-terminal pGlu, and the blocked N-terminal ends are in accordance with the primary structure established for the other three RPCHs. We suggest that all six peptides have the same amino acid sequence. These results indicate that RPCH, which is likely to be related to the peptides of the AKH family in insects, is highly conserved among crustacean species. This is in remarkable contrast to the high degree of molecular evolution exemplified by the many different AKH-like peptides among insect species.
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