Strong selection of the TLR2 coding region among the Lagomorpha suggests an evolutionary history that differs from other mammals

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2019

Authors

Neves, F (Author) Other; Agueda Pinto, A (Author) Other; Pinheiro, A (Author) Other; Abrantes, J (Author) FCUP; Esteves, PJ (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Immunogenetics

Vol. 71

Pages: 437-443

ISSN: 0093-7711

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 6 Citations

Scopus - 8 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00Q-C3H

DOI: 10.1007/s00251-019-01110-3

Abstract (EN): Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are one of the first lines of defense against pathogens and are crucial for triggering an appropriate immune response. Among TLRs, TLR2 is functional in all vertebrates and has high ability in detecting bacterial and viral pathogen ligands. The mammals' phylogenetic tree of TLR2 showed longer branches for the Lagomorpha clade, raising the hypothesis that lagomorphs experienced an acceleration of the mutation rate. This hypothesis was confirmed by (i) Tajima's test of neutrality that revealed different evolutionary rates between lagomorphs and the remaining mammals with lagomorphs presenting higher nucleotide diversity; (ii) genetic distances were similar among lagomorphs and between lagomorphs and other mammals; and (iii) branch models reinforced the existence of an acceleration of the mutation rate in lagomorphs. These results suggest that the lagomorph TLR2 has been strongly involved in pathogen recognition, which probably caused a host-pathogen arms race that led to the observed acceleration of the mutation rate.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7