Induction of apoptosis by double-stranded RNA was present in the last common ancestor of cnidarian and bilaterian animals.

ABSTRACT: Apoptosis, a major form of programmed cell death, is an essential component of host defense against invading intracellular pathogens. Viruses encode inhibitors of apoptosis to evade host responses during infection, and to support their own replication and survival. Therefore, hosts and their viruses are entangled in a constant evolutionary arms race to control apoptosis. Until now, apoptosis in the context of the antiviral immune system has been almost exclusively studied in vertebrates. This limited phyletic sampling makes it impossible to determine whether a similar mechanism existed in the last common ancestor of animals. Here, we established assays to probe apoptosis in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, a model species of Cnidaria, a phylum that diverged approximately 600 million

SUBMITTER: Kozlovski I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11251625 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature