Mammalian mesotocin: cDNA sequence and expression of an oxytocin-like gene in a macropodid marsupial, the tammar wallaby

Abstract

The oxytocin (OT)-like peptide of most Australian marsupials is mesotocin (MT), which differs from OT by substitution of isoleucine for leucine at position 8. To date, the only information on the evolution of the OT peptide in marsupials is based on the sequence of the 9-amino acid peptide itself. The main objective of this study was to obtain the nucleotide and derived amino acid sequences of a marsupial MT precursor for comparison with known OT and MT precursors of eutherians and nonmammalian vertebrates. The structural organization and sequence of the MT gene and its specific transcript were established in a macropodid marsupial, the tammar wallaby, using PCR strategies with a combination..