Molecular characterisation of Toll-like receptors in the black flying fox Pteropus alecto

Bats are believed to be reservoir hosts for a number of emerging and re-emerging viruses, many of which are responsible for illness and mortality in humans, livestock and other animals. In other vertebrates, early responses to viral infection involve engagement of Toll-like receptors (TLRs). which induce changes in gene expression collectively leading to an "antiviral state". In this study we report the cloning and bioinformatic analysis of a complete set of TLRs from the black flying fox Pteropus alecto, and perform quantitative tissue expression analysis of the nucleic acid-sensing TLRs 3, 7, 8 and 9. Full-length mRNA transcripts from TLRs homologous to human TLRs 1-10 were sequenced, as well as a nearly intact TLR13 pseudogene that was spliced and polyadenylated. This prototype data can now be used to design functional studies of the bat innate immune system. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.