Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcripts in two percomorphs: evolutionary conservation and energy-status dependent responses

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Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (Cart) is a neuropeptide involved in appetite regulation and energy homeostasis.
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The study identified seven cart genes in Nile tilapia and six in gilthead seabream, showing high sequence conservation with other vertebrates.
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Protein structure modeling indicated that some cart peptides lost part or all of their cysteine-based disulfide bridges.
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Quantitative-PCR revealed that specific cart genes responded differently to short- and long-term food deprivation in both fish species.
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The findings suggest functional partitioning in the piscine CART system, with species-specific responses to energy status.

Frontiers In Endocrinology

by Nikko Alvin R. Cabillon, Liat Koch, Noam Mizrahi, Shifra Ben-Dor, Adi Segev-Hadar, Iris Meiri Ashkenazi, Gertrude Alupo, Amir Bitan, Jakob Biran
June 30, 2026

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