Taxonomic distribution of proteins containing FISNA domains

The tree below includes only several representative species and genera. The complete taxonomic breakdown of all proteins containing FISNA domains can be accessed here. Click the counts or percentage values to display the corresponding proteins.

Conservation and divergence of gene families encoding components of innate immuneresponse systems in zebrafish.

Stein C, Caccamo M, Laird G, Leptin M
Genome Biol. 2007; 8: 251-251

BACKGROUND: The zebrafish has become a widely used model to study diseaseresistance and immunity. Although the genes encoding many components of immunesignaling pathways have been found in teleost fish, it is not clear whether allcomponents are present or whether the complexity of the signaling mechanismsemployed by mammals is similar in fish. RESULTS: We searched the genomes of thezebrafish Danio rerio and two pufferfish for genes encoding components of theToll-like receptor and interferon signaling pathways, the NLR (NACHT-domain andleucine rich repeat containing) protein family, and related proteins. We findthat most of the components known in mammals are also present in fish, withclearly recognizable orthologous relationships. The class II cytokines and their receptors have diverged extensively, obscuring orthologies, but the number ofreceptors is similar in all species analyzed. In the family of the NLR proteins, the canonical members are conserved. We also found a conserved NACHT-domainprotein with WD40 repeats that had previously not been described in mammals.Additionally, we have identified in each of the three fish a largespecies-specific subgroup of NLR proteins that contain a novel amino-terminaldomain that is not found in mammalian genomes. CONCLUSION: The main innate immunesignaling pathways are conserved in mammals and teleost fish. Whereas thecomponents that act downstream of the receptors are highly conserved, withorthologous sets of genes in mammals and teleosts, components that are known orassumed to interact with pathogens are more divergent and have undergonelineage-specific expansions.