Conserved domains of the class A scavenger receptors: evolution and function

The class A scavenger receptors are phagocytic pattern recognition receptors that are well represented in vertebrate genomes. The high level of conservation among vertebrates implies that this is an evolutionarily conserved family of receptors and indicates the presence of a common ancestral gene. The identity of this ancestral gene is not clear, as it appears that many of the domains of the scavenger receptors (e.g. collagenous, scavenger …