title: Evolutionary analysis and expression profiling of zebra finch immune genes.
abstract: Genes of the immune system are generally considered to evolve rapidly due to host-parasite coevolution. They are therefore of great interest in evolutionary biology and molecular ecology. In this study, we manually annotated 144 avian immune genes from the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) genome and conducted evolutionary analyses of these by comparing them with their orthologs in the chicken (Gallus gallus). Genes classified as immune receptors showed elevated d(N)/d(S) ratios compared with other classes of immune genes. Immune genes in general also appear to be evolving more rapidly than other genes, as inferred from a higher d(N)/d(S) ratio compared with the rest of the genome. Furthermore, ten genes (of 27) for which sequence data were available from at least three bird species showed evidence of positive selection acting on specific codons. From transcriptome data of eight different tissues, we found evidence for expression of 106 of the studied immune genes, with primary expression of most of these in bursa, blood, and spleen. These immune-related genes showed a more tissue-specific expression pattern than other genes in the zebra finch genome. Several of the avian immune genes investigated here provide strong candidates for in-depth studies of molecular adaptation in birds.
authors.affiliation: University of Sheffield, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, Sheffield, UK. robert.ekblom@ebc.uu.se
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ekblom
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Slate
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Burke
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001717:Birds / Q000235:genetics; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics; D003062:Codon; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D046369:Finches / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D007109:Immunity / Q000235:genetics*; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D003062:Codon