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Related Experiment Video

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Rearing and Double-stranded RNA-mediated Gene Knockdown in the Hide Beetle, Dermestes maculatus

Rearing and Double-stranded RNA-mediated Gene Knockdown in the Hide Beetle, Dermestes maculatus

Published on: December 28, 2016

A hypervariable invertebrate allodeterminant.

Matthew L Nicotra¹, Anahid E Powell, Rafael D Rosengarten

¹Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.

Current Biology : CB

|March 24, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers identified a novel gene responsible for allorecognition in colonial marine invertebrates. This transmembrane receptor, highly polymorphic, dictates whether colonies fuse or compete, offering insights into invertebrate immunity and evolution.

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Area of Science:

Marine Biology
Invertebrate Immunology
Genetics

Background:

Colonial marine invertebrates exhibit allorecognition, a histocompatibility response determining colony fusion or rejection.
This process is crucial for intraspecific competition and maintaining diversity but its molecular basis remains largely unknown in invertebrates.
Understanding invertebrate allorecognition offers insights into fundamental biological processes like transplantation and pregnancy.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify the molecular basis of allorecognition in colonial invertebrates.
To positionally clone the gene responsible for allorecognition in Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus.

Main Methods:

Utilized inbred strains of the cnidarian Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus for positional cloning.
Analyzed gene expression in tissues capable of allorecognition.
Assessed gene polymorphism and its correlation with allorecognition outcomes.

Main Results:

Successfully positionally cloned a novel gene encoding a putative transmembrane receptor.
The identified gene is highly polymorphic and expressed in allorecognition-capable tissues.
Sequence analysis revealed extracellular domains with similarity to the immunoglobulin superfamily.

Conclusions:

A previously undescribed hypervariable molecule acts as an allodeterminant in a lower metazoan.
This transmembrane receptor is key to mediating allorecognition responses in colonial invertebrates.
The findings provide a molecular explanation for invertebrate allorecognition, bridging a gap in comparative immunology.