Frequent birth-and-death events throughout perforin-1 evolution.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Through its ability to open pores in cell membranes, perforin-1 plays a key role in the immune system. Consistent with this role, the gene encoding perforin shows hallmarks of complex evolutionary events, including amplification and pseudogenization, in multiple species. A large proportion of these events occurred in phyla for which scarce genomic data were available. However, recent large-scale genomics projects have added a wealth of information on those phyla. Using this input, we annotated perforin-1 homologs in more than eighty species including mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians and fishes.

Results

We have annotated more than 400 perforin genes in all groups studied. Most mammalian species only have one perforin locus, which may contain a related pseudogen

SUBMITTER: Araujo-Voces M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7574235 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature