Fig. 1.

VLRC is a member of the VLR family. Deduced amino acid sequences of sea lamprey (Pm, P. marinus), Japanese lamprey (Lj, L. japonicum), inshore hagfish (Eb, E. burgeri), and Pacific hagfish (Es, Eptatretus stoutii) VLRs. C, conserved cysteine residues in LRRNT and LRRCT; #, highly variable inserts (23). Conserved residues are shaded: light-blue, ≥90% identity; green, 70–89% identity; and yellow, 69–50% identity. “-” indicates a gap. Accession nos. are as follows: LjVLRA, AB507269; PmVLRA, EF094821; EbVLRA, AY964726; EsVLRA, AY964825; LjVLRB, AB507270; PmVLRB, AY577957; EbVLRB, AY965530; EsVLRB, AY965561; and LjVLRC, AB507271.