Key result
Comparative analysis of the natriuretic peptide precursor gene cluster reveals that the Nppa gene has been lost in chickens, whereas the CNP-3 gene has been retained.
This comparative genomic study reveals evolutionary divergence in the natriuretic peptide precursor gene cluster, showing the loss of Nppa and retention of CNP-3 in chickens compared to mammals.
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Avian Nppa loss cautions against extrapolating chicken models to human natriuretic peptide function; extends evolutionary insights into peptide gene clusters.
We identified and characterized the chicken natriuretic peptide precursor gene cluster and found its organization to be highly conserved compared with the mammalian Nppb-Nppa cluster. However, phylogenetic analysis indicated that the putative chicken natriuretic peptide precursor genes are the homologues of CNP-3 and Nppb, respectively. Comparative expression analysis revealed that, in human, mouse, and rat hearts, Nppb is a novel marker for the differentiating working myocardium. Its expression pattern is strikingly similar to that of Nppa before birth, and diverges only after birth. In contrast, whereas the chicken Nppb gene expression profile resembled that of mammalian Nppb, the CNP-3 gene showed very limited expression in the heart, not resembling the pattern of either Nppa or Nppb. These results show that, in chicken, the Nppa gene has been lost from the natriuretic peptide precursor gene cluster, whereas the CNP-3 gene has been retained.
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Houweling et al. (2005) studied this question. Comparative analysis of the natriuretic peptide precursor gene cluster reveals that the Nppa gene has been lost in chickens, whereas the CNP-3 gene has been retained.
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