MHC Class II DRB Variability and Parasite Load in the Striped Mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) in the Southern Kalahari

Froeschke, Götz; Sommer, Simone

doi:10.1093/molbev/msi156

Cited by 56 publications

(78 citation statements)

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“…The genes of the major histocompatibility complex are an important factor influencing host susceptibility to infections, and indeed, both negative and positive associations between the presence of particular MHC alleles and parasites have been shown in several vertebrate taxa, such as rodents (Meyer-Lucht and Sommer 2005;Froeschke and Sommer 2005;Kloch et al 2010), ruminants (Paterson et al 1998), fish (Eizaguirre et al 2009) and birds (Westerdahl et al 2005;Bonneaud et al 2006;Loiseau et al 2008). Similarly, in the present study, we detected a significant association between allele AA*05 and infection with Babesia ssp.…”

Section: Effects Of the Mhc On Infection And Survival Ratessupporting

confidence: 84%

“…MHC heterozygosity has been shown to be associated with decreased infection rates in both laboratory and field studies (McClelland et al 2003;Froeschke and Sommer 2005), but several other studies have found no such association (Harf and Sommer 2005;Dionne et al 2009). Ilmonen et al (2007) found that wild-derived mice that were MHC heterozygotes did not show better resistance to Salmonella or better survival in semi-natural enclosures, even though earlier laboratory experiments documented a heterozygote advantage (Penn et al 2002).…”

Section: Effects Of the Mhc On Infection And Survival Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DRB is typically the most variable one among MHC II genes (Robinson et al 2003) and it has been commonly used in MHC studies in wild populations (e.g. Harf and Sommer 2005;Froeschke and Sommer 2005;Kloch et al 2010). The variance at given MHC gene is likely to represents the variation at other MHC genes due to the linkeage disequlibrium between MHC genes (Marsh et al 2000).…”

Section: Primer Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

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MHC influences infection with parasites and winter survival in the root vole Microtus oeconomus

et al. 2012

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Selective pressure from parasites is thought to maintain the polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. Although a number of studies have shown a relationship between the MHC and parasitic infections, the fitness consequences of such associations are less well documented. In the present paper, we characterised the variation in exon 2 of MHC class II DRB gene in the root vole and examined the effects of that gene on parasite prevalence and winter survival. We identified 18 unique exon 2 sequences, which translated into 10 unique amino acid sequences. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of three distinct clusters, and allele distributions among these individuals suggested that the clusters correspond to three different loci. Although the rate of synonymous substitutions (d S ) exceeded the rate of nonsynonymous substitutions (d N ) across sequences, implying purifying selection, d N was significantly elevated at antigen-binding sites, suggesting that these sites could be under positive selection. Screening for parasites revealed a moderate prevalence of infection with gastrointestinal parasites (24 % infected), but a high infection rate for blood parasites (56 % infected). Infection with the blood parasite Babesia ssp. decreased survival almost twofold (25.7 vs. 13.9 %). Animals possessing the amino acid sequence AA*08 survived better than others (44.9 vs. 22 %), and they were infected with Babesia ssp. less often (13.9 vs 25.7 %). In contrast, individuals carrying allele AA*05 were infected more often (31.7 vs. 15.3 %). Heterozygosity at one of the putative loci was associated with a lower probability of infection with Babesia ssp., but at the other locus, the association was reversed. The unexpected latter result could be at least partly explained by the increased frequency of the susceptible allele AA*05 among heterozygotes. Overall, we demonstrate that infection with Babesia ssp. is a strong predictor of Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

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Section: Effects Of the Mhc On Infection And Survival Ratessupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Effects Of the Mhc On Infection And Survival Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Primer Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

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MHC influences infection with parasites and winter survival in the root vole Microtus oeconomus

et al. 2012

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“…Paterson et al (1998) showed that specific MHC alleles affected both resistance and susceptibility to gastrointestinal nematodes in a natural population of Soay sheep (Ovis aries), as did Meyer-Lucht and in yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) and Schad et al (2005) in Malagasy mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus). In striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio), MHC DRB heterozygosity influenced infection status to parasites, and particular alleles occurred more frequently than expected in both high and low parasitised individuals (Froeschke and Sommer, 2005). This study provides evidence that both overdominant and frequency-dependent selection may operate simultaneously.…”

Section: Parasite-mediated Selection and Mhc Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 59%

The evolutionary ecology of the major histocompatibility complex

2005

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The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has become a paradigm for how selection can act to maintain adaptively important genetic diversity in natural populations. Here, we review the contribution of studies on the MHC in non-model species to our understanding of how selection affects MHC diversity, emphasising how ecological and ethological processes influence the tempo and mode of evolution at the MHC, and conversely, how variability at the MHC affects individual fitness, population dynamics and viability. We focus on three main areas: the types of information that have been used to detect the action of selection on MHC genes; the relative contributions of parasite-mediated and sexual selection on the maintenance of MHC diversity; and possible future lines of research that may help resolve some of the unanswered issues associated with MHC evolution.

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“…This hypothesis was inferred from observations in mice (McClelland et al, 2003;Froeschke and Sommer, 2005) and fish Arkush et al, 2002;Kekäläinen et al, 2009), in which individuals heterozygous at the MHC had higher survival rates and lower parasite loads than homozygotes. It is thought that the different MHC alleles in heterozygous individuals likely enable immunity against a wider range of pathogens (Agbali et al, 2010).…”

Section: The Mhc and Fertilization Successmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual selection for genetic compatibility: the role of the major histocompatibility complex on cryptic female choice in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

et al. 2017

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Cryptic female choice (CFC), a form of sexual selection during or post mating, describes processes of differential sperm utilization by females to bias fertilization outcomes towards certain males. In Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) the ovarian fluid surrounding the ova of a given female differently enhances the sperm velocity of males. Sperm velocity is a key ejaculate trait that determines fertilization success in externally fertilizing fishes, thus the differential effect on sperm velocity might bias male fertilization outcomes and represent a mechanism of CFC. Once sperm reach the oocyte, CFC could potentially be further facilitated by sperm-egg interactions, which are well understood in externally fertilizing marine invertebrates. Here, we explored the potential genetic basis of both possible mechanisms of CFC by examining whether the genotypic combinations of mates (amino-acid divergence, number of shared alleles) at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II explain the variation in sperm velocity and/or male fertilization success that is not explained by sperm velocity, which might indicate MHC-based sperm-egg interactions. We recorded sperm velocity in ovarian fluid, employed paired-male fertilization trials and evaluated the fertilization success of each male using microsatellite-based paternity assignment. We showed that relative sperm velocity was positively correlated with fertilization success, confirming that the differential effect on sperm velocity may be a mechanism of CFC in Chinook salmon. The variation in sperm velocity was independent of MHC class I and II. However, the MHC class II divergence of mates explained fertilization success, indicating that this locus might influence sperm-egg interactions.

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MHC Class II DRB Variability and Parasite Load in the Striped Mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) in the Southern Kalahari

Cited by 56 publications

References 0 publications

MHC influences infection with parasites and winter survival in the root vole Microtus oeconomus

MHC influences infection with parasites and winter survival in the root vole Microtus oeconomus

The evolutionary ecology of the major histocompatibility complex

Sexual selection for genetic compatibility: the role of the major histocompatibility complex on cryptic female choice in Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)

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