Distinctive expression patterns of 185/333 genes in the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus: an unexpectedly diverse family of transcripts in response to LPS, beta-1,3-glucan, and dsRNA.

Background: A diverse set of transcripts called 185/333 is strongly expressed in sea urchins responding to immune challenge. Optimal alignments of full-length 185/333 cDNAs requires the insertion of large gaps that define 25 blocks of sequence called elements. The presence or absence of individual elements also defines a specific element pattern for each message.