A genomic view of the NOD-like receptor family in teleost fish: identification of a novel NLR subfamily in zebrafish

摘要

BackgroundA large multigene family of NOD-like receptor (NLR) molecules have been described in mammals and implicated in immunity and apoptosis. Little information, however, exists concerning this gene family in non-mammalian taxa. This current study, therefore, provides an in-depth investigation of this gene family in lower vertebrates including extensive phylogenetic comparison of zebrafish NLRs with orthologs in tetrapods, and analysis of their tissue-specific expression.