Fig. 5: Gene synteny of type I to IV IFNs.

Gene synteny of IFNU (a), type I (b), II (c) and III IFN (d) loci in vertebrates. All genes are indicated with arrow symbols which point to the transcription direction. IFNU, type I, II and III IFNs are dyed using red, blue, yellow and green, respectively. The conserved and non-conserved neighbor genes are illustrated in gray and white, respectively. Evolutionary topology is supported by a recent study35. ♯ indicating no reports on type III IFN in elephant shark, but in catshark8, and ♯♯ chicken type III IFN locus which belongs to the conserved “IFNLB loci” in reptile and bird34.