Anopheles fibrinogen-related proteins provide expanded pattern recognition capacity against bacteria and malaria parasites.

ABSTRACT: The fibrinogen-related protein family (FREP, also known as FBN) is an evolutionarily conserved immune gene family found in mammals and invertebrates. It is the largest pattern recognition receptor gene family in Anopheles gambiae, with as many as 59 putative members, while the Drosophila melanogaster genome has only 14 known FREP members. Our sequence and phylogenetic analysis suggest that this remarkable gene expansion in the mosquito is the result of tandem duplication of the fibrinogen domain. We found that the majority of the FREP genes displayed immune-responsive transcription after challenge with bacteria, fungi, or Plasmodium, and these expression patterns correlated strongly with gene phylogeny and chromosomal location. Using RNAi-mediated gene-silencing assays, we further demonstr

SUBMITTER: Dong Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2665105 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature