Gallin; an antimicrobial peptide member of a new avian defensin family, the ovodefensins, has been subject to recent gene duplication.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Egg white must provide nutrients and protection to the developing avian embryo. One way in which this is achieved is an arsenal of antimicrobial proteins and peptides which are essentially extensions of the innate immune system. Gallin is a recently identified member of a family of peptides that are found in egg white. The function of this peptide family has not been identified and they are potentially antimicrobial.

Results

We have confirmed that there are at least 3 forms of the gallin gene in the chicken genome in 3 separate lines of chicken, all the forms are expressed in the tubular cells of the magnum region of the oviduct, consistent with its presence in egg white. mRNA expression levels are in the order 10,000 times greater in the magnum than the shell gla

SUBMITTER: Gong D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2846878 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature