The artiodactyl APOBEC3 innate immune repertoire shows evidence for a multi-functional domain organization that existed in the ancestor of placental mammals.

ABSTRACT:

Background

APOBEC3 (A3) proteins deaminate DNA cytosines and block the replication of retroviruses and retrotransposons. Each A3 gene encodes a protein with one or two conserved zinc-coordinating motifs (Z1, Z2 or Z3). The presence of one A3 gene in mice (Z2-Z3) and seven in humans, A3A-H (Z1a, Z2a-Z1b, Z2b, Z2c-Z2d, Z2e-Z2f, Z2g-Z1c, Z3), suggests extraordinary evolutionary flexibility. To gain insights into the mechanism and timing of A3 gene expansion and into the functional modularity of these genes, we analyzed the genomic sequences, expressed cDNAs and activities of the full A3 repertoire of three artiodactyl lineages: sheep, cattle and pigs.

Results

Sheep and cattle have three A3 genes, A3Z1, A3Z2 and A3Z3, whereas pigs only have two, A3Z2 and A3Z3. A comparison betwe

SUBMITTER: LaRue RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2612020 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature