Identification of the activation-induced cytidine deaminase gene from zebrafish: an evolutionary analysis

In the present study, we report the identification of the activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) encoding gene in frog, dog and chimpanzee, where both somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination (CSR) occurs and in zebrafish and fugu, species lacking CSR. The cDNA sequence of the zebrafish AID reported here suggests both N and C ends of the previously predicted protein sequence are incorrect. A comparison of AID sequences among mammals, birds, amphibians and fish revealed conserved aa residues which may be essential for AID activity, although the cytidine deaminase active motif in the latter is nine amino acids longer. Furthermore, an aa deletion, and extensive substitutions in the C terminal end of AID from bony fish indicate that the molecule may not yet have developed a capacity to recruit the specific cofactor(s) needed to initiate CSR.