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Full-Text Articles in Virology
Cross-Species Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals Molecular And Functional Diversity Of The Unconventional Interferon-Ω Subtype, Lauren E. Shields, Jordan Jennings, Qinfang Liu, Jinhwa Lee, Wenjun Ma, Frank Blecha, Laura C. Miller, Yongming Sang
Cross-Species Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals Molecular And Functional Diversity Of The Unconventional Interferon-Ω Subtype, Lauren E. Shields, Jordan Jennings, Qinfang Liu, Jinhwa Lee, Wenjun Ma, Frank Blecha, Laura C. Miller, Yongming Sang
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research
Innate immune interferons (IFNs), particularly type I IFNs, are primary mediators regulating animal antiviral, antitumor, and cell-proliferative activity. These antiviral cytokines have evolved remarkable molecular and functional diversity to confront ever-evolving viral threats and physiological regulation. We have annotated IFN gene families across 110 animal genomes, and showed that IFN genes, after originating in jawed fishes, had several significant evolutionary surges in vertebrate species of amphibians, bats and ungulates, particularly pigs and cattle. For example, pigs have the largest but still expanding type I IFN family consisting of nearly 60 IFN-coding genes that encode seven IFN subtypes including multigene subtypes …