Characterization of MHC-I in the Blue Tit (Cyanistes Caeruleus) Reveals Low Levels of Genetic Diversity and Trans-population Evolution Across European Populations

Overview

Journal Immunogenetics

Specialties Allergy & Immunology
Genetics

Date 2011 May 12

PMID 21559782

Citations 15

Authors

Elske Schut

Juan Rivero-de Aguilar

Santiago Merino

Michael J L Magrath

Jan Komdeur

Helena Westerdahl

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The major histcompatibility complex (MHC) is a vital component of the adaptive immune system in all vertebrates. This study is the first to characterize MHC class I (MHC-I) in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), and we use MHC-I exon 3 sequence data from individuals originating from three locations across Europe: Spain, the Netherlands to Sweden. Our phylogeny of the 17 blue tit MHC-I alleles contains one allele cluster with low nucleotide diversity compared to the remaining more diverse alleles. We found a significant evidence for balancing selection in the peptide-binding region in the diverse allele group only. No separation according to geographic location was found in the phylogeny of alleles. Although the number of MHC-I loci of the blue tit is comparable to that of other passerine species, the nucleotide diversity of MHC-I appears to be much lower than that of other passerine species, including the closely related great tit (Parus major) and the severely inbred Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). We believe that this initial MHC-I characterization in blue tits provides an important step towards understanding the mechanisms shaping MHC-I diversity in natural populations.

Citing Articles

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Not all birds have a single dominantly expressed MHC-I gene: Transcription suggests that siskins have many highly expressed MHC-I genes.

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A quantitative and qualitative comparison of illumina MiSeq and 454 amplicon sequencing for genotyping the highly polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in a non-model species.

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Characterization of MHC class I in a long distance migratory wader, the Icelandic black-tailed godwit.

Pardal S, Drews A, Alves J, Ramos J, Westerdahl H Immunogenetics. 2017; 69(7):463-478.

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Jaratlerdsiri W, Deakin J, Godinez R, Shan X, Peterson D, Marthey S PLoS One. 2014; 9(12):e114631.

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