Toll-like receptors in passerine ...

Toll-like receptors in passerine birds: description, characterization of polymorphism and evolutionary consequences of allelic variation (2010-2014)

Investigator: doc. Mgr. et Mgr. Josef Bryja, Ph.D.
Number of Project: P505/10/1871
Agency: Czech Science Foundation
Duration: 01. 01. 2010 - 31. 12. 2014

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) represent one of the basic and presumably also evolutionary most original components of

pathogen-recognition machinery of the animal immune system. As they belong among the first elements able to detect potential danger and initiate the immune response, their importance for successful parasite defeat is crucial. Although the association between microevolution in these genes and life history traits may be of special interest there is no study on the linkage between TLR genes polymorphism and condition, health or sexual ornaments in wild animal populations. The proposed project aims to describe homologues of all TLRs (in birds currently known only in chicken) in passerines. This

knowledge will be consequently used for characterization of the polymorphism in these TLRs (1) on the intrapopulational level of model species with respect to the health and fitness, (2) on the interpopulational level through the range of distribution of the species with respect to historical selection, and (3) on the interspecific level to reconstruct the phylogeny of the TLRs in passerines.