title: Positive selection of the bat interferon alpha gene family.
abstract: Type I interferons (IFNs) are produced by leukocytes in reaction to pathogenic infection and function as positive mediators in antiviral pathways. Among IFNs, IFN alpha (IFNA) has the largest number of family members and plays an important role against the invasion of pathogens. Bats are putative and proven vectors for numerous viruses; however, the evolution of the IFNA family in bats has not been addressed. Here, we construct a phylogeny of IFNA families, including one fruit bat (Dobsonia viridis), with other vertebrates as references. Site-model estimation reveals that positive selection has shaped bat IFNA genes, showing that positive selection drives the evolution of bat IFNA genes.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China.
authors.forename: Guimei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Beibei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Racey
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D051379:Mice; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012641:Selection, Genetic
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha