New Corthals Lab Publication!
The Evolution of Antimicrobial Peptides in Chiroptera This new publication is part of Dr. Corthals' NSF collaborative grant with Dr. Liliana Davalos (Stony Brook University) and Dr. David Ray (Texas Tech): immunological adaptations in bats to moderate the effect of coronavirus infection . Congratulations to PhD student Francisco Castellanos (Texas Tech University) and Postodoctoral Researcher Diana Moreno-Santillan (University of California, Berkeley) for spearheading and leading this research! Link: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1250229 Abstract: High viral tolerance coupled with an extraordinary regulation of the immune response makes bats a great model to study host-pathogen evolution. Although many immune-related gene gains and losses have been previously reported in bats, important gene families such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) remain understudied. We built an exhaustive bioinformatic pipeline targeting the major gene families of defensins and cathelic