Conservation of the most JH proximal Ig VH gene segment (VHVI) throughout primate evolution

The human VHVI gene segment, the sole member of the VHVI gene family, is remarkable in that it is the most D-proximal VH gene segment and is apparently nonpolymorphic. Here we report that the VHVI gene segment has been remarkably preserved in primate evolution. We were unable to detect RFLP among several primates, and nucleotide sequences of several VHVI gene segments showed remarkable conservation. No differences were detected in the nucleotide sequences of the VHVI gene segment from three unrelated chimpanzees. These findings suggest that the VHVI gene segment has been strongly selected for during primate evolution, suggesting an important immunologic role.