Evolution of a cluster of innate immune genes (β-defensins) along the ancestral lines of chicken and zebra finch

• Published in: Immunome research Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 3
• Main Authors: Hellgren, Olof, Ekblom, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 01.04.2010; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Amino acids; Analysis; Animal genetics; Biologi; Biological Sciences; Evolutionary Biology; Evolutionsbiologi; Genetics; Genetics and Genomics; Genetik; Genetik och genomik; Immunologi; Immunology; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Zebra finch; United States

Avian beta-defensins (AvBDs) represent a group of innate immune genes with broad antimicrobial activity. Within the chicken genome, previous work identified 14 AvBDs in a cluster on chromosome three. The release of a second bird genome, the zebra finch, allows us to study the comparative evolutionar...