HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Data Supplement Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Martin, M. P. Articles by Carrington, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Martin, M. P. Articles by Carrington, M. Pubmed/NCBI databases Substance via MeSH

Cutting Edge: Expansion of the KIR Locus by Unequal Crossing Over ¹

Maureen P. Martin^*, Arman Bashirova, James Traherne, John Trowsdale and Mary Carrington^2,*

^* Basic Research Program, Science Applications International Corporation-Frederick, and Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702; and Immunology Division, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

The killer Ig-like receptor (KIR) genes have high sequence similarity and are organized in a head-to-tail fashion. These properties may enhance misalignment of homologous chromosomes during synapsis preceding meiotic recombination, resulting in unequal crossing over. We have identified an extended KIR haplotype that contains a novel hybrid gene and two copies of each of two previously described KIR genes. A parsimonious mechanism for the derivation of this haplotype invokes unequal crossing over between two known ancestral KIR haplotypes. These data raise the possibility that unequal crossing over may be responsible in part for the expansion/contraction of KIR haplotypes as well as other homologous gene families that map in tandem.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. J. Norman, L. Abi-Rached, K. Gendzekhadze, J. A. Hammond, A. K. Moesta, D. Sharma, T. Graef, K. L. McQueen, L. A. Guethlein, C. V.F. Carrington, et al. Meiotic recombination generates rich diversity in NK cell receptor genes, alleles, and haplotypes Genome Res., May 1, 2009; 19(5): 757 - 769. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Thomas, E. Yamada, G. Alter, M. P. Martin, A. A. Bashirova, P. J. Norman, M. Altfeld, P. Parham, S. K. Anderson, D. W. McVicar, et al. Novel KIR3DL1 Alleles and Their Expression Levels on NK Cells: Convergent Evolution of KIR3DL1 Phenotype Variation? J. Immunol., May 15, 2008; 180(10): 6743 - 6750. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. P. Williams, A. R. Bateman, and S. I. Khakoo HANGING IN THE BALANCE: KIR and Their Role in Disease Mol. Interv., August 1, 2005; 5(4): 226 - 240. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. G. Sambrook, A. Bashirova, S. Palmer, S. Sims, J. Trowsdale, L. Abi-Rached, P. Parham, M. Carrington, and S. Beck Single haplotype analysis demonstrates rapid evolution of the killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) loci in primates Genome Res., January 1, 2005; 15(1): 25 - 35. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]