Mouse Anti-Bovine Myosin Hybridoma [CG-45]

The tripartite motif (TRIM) gene family encodes diverse distinct proteins that play important roles in many biological processes. However, the molecular evolution and phylogenetic relationships ofTRIMgenes in primates are still elusive. We performed a genomic approach to identify and characterizeTRIMgenes in human and other six primate genomes. In total, 537 putative functionalTRIMgenes were identified andTRIMmembers varied among primates. A neighbor joining (NJ) tree based on the protein sequences of 82 humanTRIMgenes indicates sevenTRIMgroups, which is consistent with the results based on the architectural motifs. ManyTRIMgene duplication events were identified, indicating a recent expansion ofTRIMfamily in primate lineages. Interestingly, the chimpanzee genome shows the greatestTRIMgene expansion among the primates; however, its congeneric species, bonobo, has the least number ofTRIMgenes and no duplication event. Moreover, we identified a similar to 200 kb deletion on chromosome 11 of bonobos that results in a loss of cluster3 TRIM genes. The loss ofTRIMgenes might have occurred within the last 2 mys. Analysis of positive selection recovered 9 previously reported and 21 newly identified positively selectedTRIMgenes. In particular, most positive selected sites are located in the B30.2 domains. Our results have provided new insight into the evolution of primateTRIMgenes and will broaden our understanding on the functions of the TRIM family.

Three potential errors in applying the Gompertz growth model are discussed: 1. Restriction of growth data to the subadult or juvenile phase, 2. Confusion of mean growth rate with (mean) maximum growth rate; 3. Improper application of the growth model in cases of sample size variation. These errors are demonstrated on the example of growth data of Zambian common mole-rats (Crypto-mys sp.).