The LBP/BPI multigenic family in invertebrates: Evolutionary history and evidences of specialization in mollusks
Résumé
LBPs (lipopolysaccharide binding proteins) and BPIs (bactericidal permeability increasing proteins) are important proteins involved in defense against bacterial pathogens. We recently discovered a novel biocidal activity of a LBP/BPI from the gastropod Biomphalaria glabrata and demonstrated its role in parental immune protection of eggs, highlighting the importance of LBP/BPIs in invertebrate immunity. Here we characterize four additional LBP/BPI from B. glabrata, presenting conserved sequence architecture and exon-intron structure. Searches of invertebrate genomes revealed that existence of LBP/BPIs is not a conserved feature since they are absent from phyla such as arthropods and platyhelminths. Analyses of LBP/BPI transcripts from selected mollusk species showed recent parallel duplications in some species, including B. glabrata. In this snail species, LBP/BPI members vary in their expression tissue localization as well as their change in expression levels after immune challenges (Gram-negative bacterium; Gram-positive bacterium or yeast). These results, together with the predicted protein features provide evidences of functional specialization of LBP/BPI family members in molluscs.