The Antibody Molecules of A Basal Vertebrate are Deployed

for Developmental Processes During Embryogenesis

Chris Amemiya PhD

Benaroya Research Institute (BRI)

Seattle, WA

Education:

B.S. (Genetics), 1981, Purdue University

Ph.D. (Genetics), 1987, Texas A&M University, College Station

Postdoctoral Fellow:

1987-1990 Tampa Bay Research Institute

1990-1993 Biomedical Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Faculty Appointment:

1997-2001 Center for Human Genetics, Boston University School of Medicine

2001-present Benaroya Research Institute

Abstract：

The lamprey, a basal vertebrate, has previously been shown to employ an alternative system to the immunoglobulins for its antibody-based immune system. This system (known as the variable lymphocyte receptor B: VLRB) utilizes an altogether different genomic and molecular toolkit for generating de novo receptor diversity, the diversity presumably rivaling that produced by the immunoglobulin loci of mouse and man. Here, we report that the VLRB locus undergoes genetic rearrangement during early embryonic development (well before formation of blood-forming cells) and that the resultant gene products are necessary for proper development of the lamprey embryo. The deployment of the same rearranging gene system for both development and immune recognition is unprecedented in vertebrates and raises myriad questions with regard to the evolution of developmental complexity and the functional interrelationship of the two processes.

Time: Sep. 26th, 2016, 16:00

Venue: New Biology Building, Room 143

Host: Xiao Liu

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