Evidence of positively selected sites in mammalian alpha-defensins.
Evidence of positively selected sites in mammalian alpha-defensins.
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DOI：
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发表时间：
2004
影响因子：
10.7
通讯作者：
D. Lynn;A. Lloyd;M. Fares;C. O’Farrelly
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
D. Lynn;A. Lloyd;M. Fares;C. O’Farrelly
α-防御素是哺乳动物抗微生物肽家族，其对一组微生物（包括细菌、真菌和包膜病毒）表现出可变活性。我们采用了最大似然方法来检测这些先天免疫反应的重要分子进化中的正选择（适应性进化）的证据。我们已经确定了14个氨基酸位点，预计将受到积极的选择。此外，我们发现，所有这些网站都位于成熟的抗菌肽，而不是在prepropeptide区域的分子，这意味着他们是功能的重要性。这些结果表明，哺乳动物α-防御素一直处于选择性压力下，以应对快速进化的微生物的潜在感染性挑战。
Alpha-defensins are a family of mammalian antimicrobial peptides that exhibit variable activity against a panel of microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and enveloped viruses. We have employed a maximum-likelihood approach to detect evidence of positive selection (adaptive evolution) in the evolution of these important molecules of the innate immune response. We have identified 14 amino acid sites that are predicted to be subject to positive selection. Furthermore, we show that all these sites are located in the mature antimicrobial peptide and not in the prepropeptide region of the molecule, implying that they are of functional importance. These results suggest that mammalian alpha-defensins have been under selective pressure to evolve in response to potentially infectious challenges by fast-evolving microbes.