title: Molecular characterisation of Toll-like receptors in the black flying fox Pteropus alecto.
abstract: Bats are believed to be reservoir hosts for a number of emerging and re-emerging viruses, many of which are responsible for illness and mortality in humans, livestock and other animals. In other vertebrates, early responses to viral infection involve engagement of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which induce changes in gene expression collectively leading to an "antiviral state". In this study we report the cloning and bioinformatic analysis of a complete set of TLRs from the black flying fox Pteropus alecto, and perform quantitative tissue expression analysis of the nucleic acid-sensing TLRs 3, 7, 8 and 9. Full-length mRNA transcripts from TLRs homologous to human TLRs 1-10 were sequenced, as well as a nearly intact TLR13 pseudogene that was spliced and polyadenylated. This prototype data can now be used to design functional studies of the bat innate immune system.
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Livestock Industries, Australian Animal Health Laboratory, 5 Portarlington Rd, East Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cowled
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tachedjian
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bulach
authors.forename: Lin-Fa
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D023061:Gene Order; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D017385:Sequence Homology; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D051193:Toll-Like Receptors