Two toll-like receptors identified in the mantle of Mytilus coruscus are abundant in haemocytes

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a large family of pattern recognition receptors (PREs) that play a critical role in innate immunity. TLRs are activated when they recognize microbial associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) of bacteria, viruses, or fungus. In the present study, two TLRs were isolated from the mantle of the hard-shelled mussel (Mytilus coruscus) and designated McTLR2 and McTLR3 based on their sequence similarity and phylogenetic clustering with Crassostrea gigas, CgiTLR2 and CgiTLR3, respectively. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that McTLR2 and McTLR3 were constitutively expressed in many tissues but at low abundance.Ministry of Science and Technology of ChinaMinistry of Science and Technology, China [2016YFE0131900]National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China [41476131]Peak Discipline Program for Fisheries from the Shanghai Municipal GovernmentFundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, PortugalPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [UID/Multi/04326/2013]FCT/China bilateral cooperation project [441