T Cell Receptor Alpha Chain Genes in the Teleost Ballan Wrasse (Labrus bergylta) Are Subjected to Somatic Hypermutation.

ABSTRACT: Previously, somatic hypermutation (SHM) was considered to be exclusively associated with affinity maturation of antibodies, although it also occurred in T cells under certain conditions. More recently, it has been shown that SHM generates diversity in the variable domain of T cell receptor (TCR) in camel and shark. Here, we report somatic mutations in TCR alpha chain genes of the teleost fish, Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta), and show that this mechanism adds extra diversity to the polymorphic constant (C) region as well. The organization of the TCR alpha/delta locus in Ballan wrasse was obtained from a scaffold covering a single copy C alpha gene, 65 putative J alpha segments, a single copy C delta gene, 1 J delta segment, and 2 D delta segments. Analysis of 37 fish revealed 6 allo

SUBMITTER: Bilal S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5972329 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature