Multiple molecular forms of glucagon and insulin in the kaluga sturgeon, Huso dauricus

Five molecular forms nf glucagon and two molecular forms of insulin were ch aracterized from the kaluga sturgeon. Substitutions occurred at two to thir teen internal amino acid residues among the five molecular forms of glucago ns, indicating that these glucagons were encoded by five distinct genes. Th e amino acid sequences of two insulins from the kaluga sturgeon were identi cal to those of paddlefish insulin-II and Russian sturgeon insulin except t hat kaluga sturgeon insulin-I had an extension of five residues at the B-ch ain N-terminus. This is the first demonstration that more than two molecula r. forms of glucagon have been characterized from a single animal species. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Inc.