454 sequencing reveals extreme complexity of the class II Major Histocompatibility Complex in the collared flycatcher.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Because of their functional significance, the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I and II genes have been the subject of continuous interest in the fields of ecology, evolution and conservation. In some vertebrate groups MHC consists of multiple loci with similar alleles; therefore, the multiple loci must be genotyped simultaneously. In such complex systems, understanding of the evolutionary patterns and their causes has been limited due to challenges posed by genotyping.

Results

Here we used 454 amplicon sequencing to characterize MHC class IIB exon 2 variation in the collared flycatcher, an important organism in evolutionary and immuno-ecological studies. On the basis of over 152,000 sequencing reads we identified 194 putative alleles in 237 individual

SUBMITTER: Zagalska-Neubauer M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3024992 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature