Molecular Cloning of a Preprohormone from Sea Anemones Containing Numerous Copies of a Metamorphosis-Inducing Neuropeptide: A Likely Role for Dipeptidyl Aminopeptidase in Neuropeptide Precursor Processing

Neuropeptides are an important group of hormones mediating or modulating neuronal communication. Neuropeptides are especially abundant in evolutionarily "old" nervous systems, such as those of cnidarians, the lowest animal group having a nervous system. Cnidarians often have a life cycle including a polyp, a medusa, and a planula larva stage. Recently, a neuropeptide,