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Fig. 1 | BMC Ecology and Evolution

Fig. 1

From: Positive natural selection in primate genes of the type I interferon response

Fig. 1

Definition of the gene classes analyzed in this study. A highly simplified illustration of the Type I interferon response is shown, to represent the two classes of genes analyzed. An infected, interferon-producing cell is shown on the left, and on the right is a cell then responding to the secreted interferon. In this study, “induction genes” are genes encoding any protein that acts in a way that ultimately leads to the expression of interferon-stimulated genes. Induction genes encode sensors of initial infection (pattern recognition receptors, toll-like receptors, and nucleic acid sensors), signaling cascade proteins, interferon molecules, interferon receptors, and transcription factors acting to induce interferon-stimulated genes. Also included are signaling molecules in the response to the interferon molecules that are produced and secreted (right cell). The second gene class, the interferon-stimulated genes, are a hugely diverse group of genes upregulated when cells are activated by interferon signaling. A relatively small number of these genes have been functionally characterized, but many encode proteins that interact directly with viruses or inhibit cellular processes that can be hijacked by viruses during infection

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