Plant & Animal Genomes XIV Conference

January 14-18, 2006
Town & Country Convention Center
San Diego, CA

Chicken CD69 And CD94-Like Genes In A Chromosomal Region Syntenic To Mammalian Natural Killer Cell Receptor Gene Complex

James J. Zhu , Hsini Chiang

  Department of Poultry Science, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77843

In mammals, natural killer (NK) cell C-type lectin like receptors were encoded in a gene cluster called nature killer receptor gene complex (NKC). NKC is not reported in chicken yet. Instead, NK C-type lectin receptors were found in chicken major histocompatibility complex. In this study, two novel chicken C-type lectin-like receptors were identified in a region on Chromosome 1 that is syntenic to mammalian NKC region. Based on phylogenetic analysis and sequence alignment, one receptor is highly homologous to mammalian CD69 and the other to CD94. Unlike mammalian NKC, the chicken C-type lectin like receptors are not closely linked but separated by approximately 42 million bp according to the chicken draft genome sequence. The arrangement of several genes that are located outside the mammalian NKC is conserved among chicken, human and mouse. The chicken NK C-type lectin like receptors in the NKC syntenic region indicate that this chromosomal region existed before the divergence between mammals and aves and there were not or much less gene duplication of NK receptor genes in the region in chickens after the divergence.