Cloning and characterization of a Caenorhabditis elegans cDNA encoding a new insulin/IGF-like peptide

A Caenorhabditis elegans cDNA encoding a new insulin/IGF-like peptide was cloned and examined. The predicted peptide shows significant sequence similarity with the peptide Ceinsulin-1 reported previously and contains a characteristic insertion consisting of three residues in the putative B domain as with the Ceinsulin-1. The gene expression pattern during development is almost identical to that of Ceinsulin-1. The predicted tertiary structure of the peptide is quite similar to that of Ceinsulin-1, and their predicted receptor-recognition surfaces also closely match. These facts suggest that both peptides could recognize the same receptor.