Pigment-dispersing hormone

Fidler crab pigment-dispersing hormone 18 nselinsilglpkvmnda-nh2... 

Sequence Similarities of Insect Pigment-Dispersing Factors and Crustacean Pigment-Dispersing Hormones... 

The prawn Pandalus borealis changes its body color by means of movable pigment granules. The neurosecretory octapeptide blanching hormone (Table 30-5) controls the process. This is a member of a larger family of peptide hormones with related functions such as the 18-residue pigment-dispersing hormone of the fiddler crab and similar hormones in insects. ... 

Sousa, G. L., Lenz, P. H., HartUne, D. K., Christie, A. E. (2008) Distribution of pigment dispersing hormone- and tachykinin-related peptides in the central nervous system of the copepod crustacean Calanus finmarchicus. Gen Comp Endocrinol, 156,454-459. 

In addition to the previously discussed insect neuropeptides, there are some whose functions do not strictly fit into these classes (e.g., neuroparsins, diapause hormone). Furthermore, there are some chemicdly-identified insect neuropeptides whose functions in insects are not yet known (e.g., pigment-dispersing factors (244) and the L. migratoria 5-6 kD CC peptides (245)), and many more whose functions are known, at least in part, but are not completely chemically identified (e.g., 246 see reviews, 1,8,14,24 and books, 22,26). 

The action of the melanocyte-stimulating hormones has been established by studies of animals, in which they cause dispersal of ecnain black pigments from the cells that contain them, with resulting darkening of the skin. 

The most conspicuous function of vacuolar sequestered anthocyanins is to provide the bright red and blue colors that serve as attractants for pollination and seed dispersal. Anthocyanin pigments have appeared quite recently in evolution,4 probably linked with the origin of the flowering plants. In contrast, other flavonoid compounds, already present in early photosynthetic plants, play more central roles in plant biology. These functions, extensively reviewed elsewhere,5,6 include photoprotection, communication in plant-microbe interactions, hormone signaling, and male fertility. 

Over 20,000 terpenoids have been identihed (1), and more are being discovered continuously. Plant terpenoids are important in both primary and secondary (speciahzed) metabolism. Their importance in primary metabolism includes physiological, metabolic, and stmctural roles such as plant hormones, chloro-plast pigments, roles in electron transport systems, and roles in the posttranslational modihcation of proteins. In secondary metabolism, the roles of plant terpenoids are incredibly diverse but are associated most often with defense and communication of sessile plants interacting with other organisms. Examples include terpenoid chemicals that form physical and chemical barriers, antibiotics, phytoalexins, repellents and antifeedants against insects and other herbivores, toxins, attractants for pollinators or fruit-dispersing animals, host/nonhost selection cues for herbivores, and mediators of plant-plant and mycorrhiza interactions (2, 3). 

The mesophase in these entirely normal cells of the adrenal cortex and ovary has interesting properties. It has a yellow pigment and a relatively high cholesterol content though this varies according to the intensity of hormonal synthesis and, in the ovary, cyclically 17). The lipid is fairly evenly distributed throughout the cell and is an integral part of the cytoplasm 1), not a dispersed phase or micellar solution as in some other fat-... 

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