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Characterization of Toll-like receptor gene expression and the pathogen agonist response in the antarctic bullhead notothen Notothenia coriiceps

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Abstract

Notothenia coriiceps, a typical Antarctic notothenioid teleost, has evolved to adapt to the extreme Antarctic marine environment. We previously reported an extensive analysis of the Antarctic notothenioid transcriptome. In this study, we focused on a key component of the innate immune system, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs). We cloned the full-length sequence of 12 TLRs of N. coriiceps. The N. coriiceps transcriptome for TLR homologue (ncTLR) genes encode a typical TLR structure, with multiple extracellular leucine-rich regions and an intracellular Toll/IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain. Using phylogenetic analysis, we established that all of the cloned ncTLR genes could be classified into the same orthologous clade with other teleost TLRs. ncTLRs were widely expressed in various organs, with the highest expression levels observed in immune-related tissues, such as the skin, spleen, and kidney. A subset of the ncTLR genes was expressed at higher levels in fish exposed to pathogen-mimicking agonists, heat-killed Escherichia coli, and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)). However, the mechanism involved in the upregulation of TLR expression following pathogen exposure in fish is currently unknown. Further research is required to elucidate these mechanisms and to thereby increase our understanding of vertebrate immune system evolution.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Antarctic organisms: cold-adaptation mechanisms and its application grant (PE14070) funded by the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Polar Life Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 406-840, South Korea

    Do Hwan Ahn, Seung Chul Shin & Hyun Park

  2. Polar Sciences, Korea University of Science & Technology, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-333, South Korea

    Do Hwan Ahn & Hyun Park

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  1. Do Hwan Ahn
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  2. Seung Chul Shin
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Correspondence to Hyun Park.

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Ahn, D.H., Shin, S.C. & Park, H. Characterization of Toll-like receptor gene expression and the pathogen agonist response in the antarctic bullhead notothen Notothenia coriiceps . Immunogenetics 66, 563–573 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-014-0792-3

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