Genomics and Peptidomics of Neuropeptides and Protein Hormones Present in the Parasitic Wasp <i>Nasonia vitripennis</i> HauserFrank NeupertSusanne WilliamsonMichael PredelReinhard TanakaYoshiaki J. P. GrimmelikhuijzenCornelis 2010 Neuropeptides and protein hormones constitute a very important group of signaling molecules, regulating central physiological processes such as reproduction, development, and behavior. Using a bioinformatics approach, we screened the recently sequenced genome of the parasitic wasp, <i>Nasonia vitripennis</i>, for the presence of these signaling molecules and annotated 30 precursor genes encoding 51 different mature neuropeptides or protein hormones. Twenty-four of the predicted mature <i>Nasonia</i> neuropeptides could be experimentally confirmed by mass spectrometry. We also discovered a completely novel neuropeptide gene in <i>Nasonia</i>, coding for peptides containing the C-terminal sequence RYamide. This gene has orthologs in nearly all arthropods with a sequenced genome, and its expression in mosquitoes was confirmed by mass spectrometry. No precursor could be identified for N-terminally extended FMRFamides, even though their putative G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) is present in the <i>Nasonia</i> genome. Neither the precursor nor the putative receptor could be identified for allatostatin-B, capa, the glycoprotein hormones GPA2/GPB5, kinin, proctolin, sex peptide, and sulfakinin, arguing that these signaling systems are truly absent in the wasp. Also, antidiuretic factors, allatotropin, and NPLP-like precursors are missing in <i>Nasonia</i>, but here the receptors have not been identified in any insect, so far. <i>Nasonia</i> (Hymenoptera) has the lowest number of neuropeptide precursor genes compared to <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>, <i>Aedes aegypti</i> (both Diptera), <i>Bombyx mori</i> (Lepidoptera), <i>Tribolium castaneum</i> (Coleoptera), <i>Apis mellifera</i> (Hymenoptera), and <i>Acyrthosiphon pisum</i> (Hemiptera). This lower number of neuropeptide genes might be related to <i>Nasonia</i>’s parasitic life.