Gene conversion limits divergence of mammalian TLR 1 and TLR 6 KRUITHOF

Toll-like receptors (TLR) recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns and are important mediators of the innate immune system. TLR1 and TLR6 are paralogs and located in tandem on the same chromosome in mammals. They form heterodimers with TLR2 and bind lipopeptide components of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial cell walls. To identify conserved stretches in TLR1 and TLR6, that may be important for their function, we compared their protein sequences in nine mammalian species(Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes, Macaca mulatta, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus; Erinaceus europaeus, Bos Taurus, Sus scrofa and Canis familiaris). KRUITHOF, Egbert, et al. Gene conversion limits divergence of mammalian TLR1 and TLR6. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2007, vol. 7, p. 148 DOI : 10.1186/1471-2148-7-148