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PMID: 9335607 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Molecular population genetics of Drosophila immune system genes.

Genetics ·Vol. 147 ·No. 2 ·1997-10-00 ·Pages 713-24

Clark AG, Wang L

Abstract

A striking aspect of many vertebrate immune system is the exceptionally high level of polymorphism they harbor. A convincing case can be made that this polymorphism is driven by the diversity of pathogens that face selective pressures to evade attack by the host immune system. Different organisms accomplish a defense against diverse pathogens through mechanisms that differ widely in their requirements for specific recognition. It has recently been shown that innate defense mechanisms, which use proteins with broad-spectrum bactericidal properties, are common to both primitive and advanced organisms. In this study we characterize DNA sequence variation in six pathogen defense genes of Drosophila melanogaster and D. mauritiana, including Andropin; cecropin genes CecA1, CecA2, CecB, and CecC; and Diptericin. The necessity for protection against diverse pathogens, which themselves may evolve resistance to insect defenses, motivates a population-level analysis. Estimates of variation levels show that the genes are not exceptionally polymorphic, but Andropin and Diptericin have patterns of variation that differ significantly from neutrality. Patterns of interpopulation and interspecific differentiation also reveal differences among the genes in evolutionary forces.

MeSH Terms
Animals Anti-Infective Agents Base Sequence DNA, Complementary Drosophila/genetics,immunology Molecular Sequence Data Multigene Family Polymerase Chain Reaction Polymorphism, Genetic Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid Species Specificity
Chemicals
Anti-Infective Agents DNA, Complementary
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Clark A G
Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802, USA. [email protected]
Wang L
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Article Info
Journal
Genetics
Abbr.
Genetics
ISSN
0016-6731
DOI
10.1093/genetics/147.2.713
Email
[email protected]
Published
1997-10-00
Pages
713-24
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
0374636
PMCID
PMC1208192
Subset
IM
Databases
GENBANK
AF018964, AF018965, AF018966, AF018967, AF018968, AF018969, AF018970, AF018971, AF018972, AF018973, AF018974, AF018975, AF018985, AF018986, AF018987, AF018988, AF018989, AF018990, AF018991, AF018992, AF018993, AF018994, AF018995, AF018996, AF018997, AF018998, AF018999
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1093/genetics/147.2.713 PMC Full Text View journal details
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