Toll-like receptors (TLRs) perform a vital role in disease resistance through their recognition of pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Recent advances in genomics allow comparison of TLR genes within and between several species. TLR2 is involved in the recognition of multiple products of Gram-positive bacteria, mycobacteria and yeast. Vechur cattle, a rare breed of Bos indicus, are highly disease resistant. Therefore the present study was undertaken to characterize the TLR2 gene in Vechur cattle to provide an insight into the mechanisms involved in disease resistance. Nucleotide sequence of TLR2 mRNA in Vechur was obtained from the Genbank revealed ORF of 2355 bp coding of 784 aminoacids. Blasting TLR2 sequence with Bos taurussequence showed 99 per cent homology and exposed 17 nucleotide variations (8 non- synonymous and 9 synonymous substitutions) for mRNA. Ten LRR domains were identified for TLR2 in Vechur cattle, of which LRR1 domain showed variation for one amino acid. Protein structure showed highest per cent of leucine(15.43 %) followed by serine (9.82 per cent) and displayed contributing of alpha helix (46.17%), beta turn (18.49 %) and random coil (35.33 %). Phylogenetic tree showed all bovidae family falling under the same group, indicated conserved nature of TLR2 gene. Variations observed for TLR2 gene in the Vechur cattle make these gene likely candidates for variations observed at the phenotypic level attributed to the resistance to diseases.
