Immunoglobulin genes of the turtles
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Immunoglobulin genes of the turtles Susana Magadán-Mompó & Christian Sánchez-Espinel & Francisco Gambón-Deza
Received: 17 September 2012 / Accepted: 23 November 2012 / Published online: 4 December 2012 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
Abstract The availability of reptile genomes for the use of the scientific community is an exceptional opportunity to study the evolution of immunoglobulin genes. The genome of Chrysemys picta bellii and Pelodiscus sinensis is the first one that has been reported for turtles. The scanning for immunoglobulin genes resulted in the presence of a complex locus for the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH). This IGH locus in both turtles contains genes for 13 isotypes in C. picta bellii and 17 in P. sinensis. These correspond with one immunoglobulin M, one immunoglobulin D, several immunoglobulins Y (six in C. picta bellii and eight in P. sinensis), and several immunoglobulins that are similar to immunoglobulin D2 (five in C. picta belli and seven in P. sinensis) that was previously described in Eublepharis macularius. It is worthy to note that IGHD2 are placed in an
inverted transcriptional orientation and present sequences for two immunoglobulin domains that are similar to bird IgA domains. Furthermore, its phylogenetic analysis allows us to consider about the presence of IGHA gene in a primitive reptile, so we would be dealing with the memory of the gene that originated from the bird IGHA. In summary, we provide a clear picture of the immunoglobulins present in a turtle, whose analysis supports the idea that turtles emerged from the evolutionary line from the differentiation of birds and the presence of the IGHA gene present in a common ancestor. Keywords Immunoglobulin genes . Reptile immunity . Immunoglobulin phylogeny . Evolution
Introduction Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00251-012-0672-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. F. Gambón-Deza (*) Servicio Gallego de Salud (SERGAS) Unidad de Inmunología, Hospital do Meixoeiro, Carretera de Madrid s/n, Vigo 36210, Pontevedra, Spain e-mail: [email protected] C. Sánchez-Espinel Shared Unit of Immunology, Vigo University Hospital Complex (Hospital Meixoeiro), University of Vigo, Edificio de Ciencias Experimentales, Rua das Abeleiras, Campus As Lagoas-Marcosende, Vigo 36310, Pontevedra, Spain e-mail: [email protected] S. Magadán-Mompó Oceanographic Center of Vigo, Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), Subida a Radio Faro 50, 36390 Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain e-mail: [email protected]
Reptiles represent the evolutionary lineage of vertebrates that have adapted to live on land. There are four living orders currently identified in reptiles: Crocodilia that includes crocodiles, gavials, caimans, and alligators; Sphenodontia that only includes the tuatara from New Zealand; Squamata, where we find lizards, snakes, and worm lizards; and the Testudines which includes turtles, terrapins, and tortoises (Janes et al. 2010; Shedloc
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