Self/nonself discrimination at the basis of chordate evolution: limits on molecular conservation.
All organisms rely on their capacity of self/nonself discrimination to rapidly detect approaching allogeneic cells as well as invading pathogenic microbes as foreign and to eliminate them. Failure to recognize nonself causes self-mating, germline parasitism and disease. Recent findings indicate that, in urochordates - the closest living relatives of vertebrates - different species use completely different molecules for allorecognition. Thanks to their phylogenetic position, these organisms might help us to understand the evolutionary origin of the vertebrate immune system.
Khalturin
Konstantin
K
Zoological Institute, Christian-Albrechts University Kiel, Am Botanischen Garten 9, 24098 Kiel, Germany.
Bosch
Thomas C G
TC
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017634:Self Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D014561:Urochordata / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*