GNAS2009 Abstract #6 - Young, John

Gene nomenclature for the chicken immune system.

John Young, IAH, Compton

More rapid evolution of genes and gene families for molecules with specialised immune functions accentuates problems with gene nomenclature resulting from uncertainty in orthology relationships. The general tendency has been to name chicken genes after their human orthologues. The genome sequence has allowed greater accuracy in this effort as well as requiring some names to be reconsidered. Some genes remain with no identified orthologues which retain their idiosyncratic names. In other cases, notably the chemokines, orthologous relationships are recognisable but not one-to-one, and new naming schemes may be preferred over those retaining elements of the human nomenclature. There has not thus far been sufficient continued funding to maintain a centralised registry of approved names. Some examples will be presented that illustrate the decisions that have to be made in naming the genes of the chicken immune system.