title: Involvement of AmphiREL, a Rel-like gene identified in Brachiastoma belcheri, in LPS-induced response: implication for evolution of Rel subfamily genes.
abstract: Rel/NF-κB family genes are important transcriptional factors regulating vital activities of immunity response, but no Rel/NF-κB gene has been identified in amphioxus. In this study, we have not only identified and characterized a Rel-like gene from Brachiastoma belcheri, but also extensively studied the evolution of Rel gene subfamily. We found that: 1) the amphioxus genome contains an AmphiREL gene encoding a Rel/NF-κB homolog, and AmphiREL gene was involved in the innate immune response of LPS stimulation in amphioxus. 2) Gene synteny comparison and structure comparison suggested that AmphiREL is an orthologous gene of human RELB, and is a paralogous gene of human RELA and REL. 3) Structural changes of Rel subfamily proteins are diverse during the evolution process, and imply their functional diversity. 4) The Rel subfamily genes have undergone very strong purifying selection. Together, our results provide important clues for understanding the evolution and function of Rel subfamily genes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics, College of Life Science, Nanjing Normal University, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li-Ling
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D043344:Chordata / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020573:Genes, rel; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012623:Seawater; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D016328:NF-kappa B; D014157:Transcription Factors