title: alpha, beta, gamma, and delta T cell antigen receptor genes arose early in vertebrate phylogeny.
abstract: A series of products were amplified using a PCR strategy based on short minimally degenerate primers and R. eglanteria (clearnose skate) spleen cDNA as template. These products were used as probes to select corresponding cDNAs from a spleen cDNA library. The cDNA sequences exhibit significant identity with prototypic (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta T cell antigen receptor (TCR) genes. Characterization of cDNAs reveals extensive variable region diversity, putative diversity segments, and varying degrees of junctional diversification. This demonstrates expression of both alpha/beta and gamma/delta TCR genes at an early level of vertebrate phylogeny and indicates that the three major known classes of rearranging antigen receptors were present in the common ancestor of the present-day jawed vertebrates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of South Florida, All Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg 33701, USA.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rast
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Strong
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luer
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Litman
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Litman
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D015329:Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte; D005796:Genes; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics*; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012754:Sharks / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D012860:Skates, Fish / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta