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Immune System Promiscuity in Human and Nonhuman Primate Evolution.

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The immune system is surprisingly interconnected with other bodily functions in primates, a trait that has grown stronger throughout evolution. This genetic interconnectedness, or promiscuity, appears to be adaptive, especially in humans and other apes.

Keywords:
evolutionary immunologyimmune promiscuityimmune systempleiotropyprimate immunityprimate immunogenomics

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Immunology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Genes responding to infection often have non-immune functions and are subject to natural selection.
  • Pathogens can inadvertently influence non-immune physiology by interacting with immune system genes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the genetic promiscuity of the immune system across primate physiological systems.
  • To assess baseline gene expression differences and identify signatures of selection in primate genomes.

Main Methods:

  • Compared baseline gene expression in key primate tissues and cell types.
  • Analyzed primate genomes for signatures of natural selection.
  • Examined differentially expressed genes between immune and non-immune tissues.

Main Results:

  • Immune gene expression is extensively cross-referenced in other primate physiological systems.
  • Differentially expressed genes between immune and non-immune tissues are enriched for cell biological activities.
  • Immune gene promiscuity increases with evolutionary time, peaking in hominoids.
  • Positive selection was found in coding regions of differentially expressed genes between immune-associated tissues.

Conclusions:

  • The immune system exhibits significant genetic promiscuity across physiological systems in primates.
  • This promiscuity appears to be an adaptive trait, particularly in hominoids.
  • Divergent gene expression between the immune system and other physiological systems is often adaptive and enriched for immune functions in humans and apes.