The components of the Daphnia pulex immune system as revealed by complete genome sequencing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Branchiopod crustaceans in the genus Daphnia are key model organisms for investigating interactions between genes and the environment. One major theme of research on Daphnia species has been the evolution of resistance to pathogens and parasites, but lack of knowledge of the Daphnia immune system has limited the study of immune responses. Here we provide a survey of the immune-related genome of D. pulex, derived from the newly completed genome sequence. Genes likely to be involved in innate immune responses were identified by comparison to homologues from other arthropods. For each candidate, the gene model was refined, and we conducted an analysis of sequence divergence from homologues from other taxa.

Results and conclusion

We found that some immune pathways, in

SUBMITTER: McTaggart SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2685406 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature