title: Rearrangement/hypermutation/gene conversion: when, where and why?
abstract: Diversification strategies for immunoglobulins vary widely in different species. Here, Jean-Claude Weill and Claude-Agnès Reynaud argue that V(D)J recombination arose as a means for achieving allelic exclusion rather than diversity, and postulate that the choice of a diversification strategy is selected along with a specific site of B-cell differentiation. They propose that somatic mutation and gene conversion represent analogous molecular strategies occurring in specific chromatin accessibility contexts.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U373, Faculté de Médecine Necker, Enfants Malades, Université Paris, France.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Weill
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Reynaud
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D015322:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D006801:Humans; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation
chemical_list: D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region