Low major histocompatibility complex class II DQA diversity in the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) is one of the most endangered animals due to habitat fragmentation and loss. Although the captive breeding program for this species is now nearly two decades old, researches on the genetic background of such captive populations, especially on adaptive molecular polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex (MHC), are still limited. In this study, we characterized adaptive variation of the giant panda's MHC DQA gene by PCR amplification of its antigen-recognizing region (i.e. the exon 2) and subsequent single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) and sequence analyses.

Results

The results revealed a low level of DQA exon 2 diversity in this rare animal, presenting 6 alleles from 61 giant panda individuals. The observe

SUBMITTER: Zhu L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1904234 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature