Electronic Thesis/Dissertation
 

The Molecular Evolution of Immune-Related Candidate Genes (VDR and ADAM33) in Primates

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these genes were studied for signs of selective pressure. My overarching hypothesis, that there would be significant indicators for positive diversifying selection in primate species at higher risk of respiratory infection, was not supported. VDR was highly conserved across the primates studied, signaling strong negative purifying selection. ADAM33 also demonstrated little evidence of positive diversifying selection, with only four codons identified as displaying that selection. It has not yet been determined how variation might relate to phylogenetic inertia or environmental pressures.

Many genes are implicated in respiratory immunology, but the evolutionary histories of these genes, and their corresponding proteins, remain unclear. In this study, two candidate genes, VDR and ADAM33, were selected for protein evolution analysis across the human and nonhuman primate phylogeny

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