Generation of Antibody Diversity, Illustration

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JF9529

To generate a huge diversity of different antibodies, multiple gene segments are encoded in the germline DNA. These segments are rearranged in individual B cells to form unique combinations. Multiple V, D and J segments are 'cut and pasted' together, with each cell randomly selecting one V, one D and one J segment for rearrangement. This rearrangement is facilitated by the RAG1 and RAG2 genes, and often includes nucleotide insertion or deletion, meaning that the final sequence differs between each cell. The gene segments for the antibody heavy chain is depicted here.

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