Ancestral polymorphism at the major histocompatibility complex (MHCIIß) in the Nesospiza bunting species complex and its sister species (Rowettia goughensis).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is an important component of the vertebrate immune system and is frequently used to characterise adaptive variation in wild populations due to its co-evolution with pathogens. Passerine birds have an exceptionally diverse MHC with multiple gene copies and large numbers of alleles compared to other avian taxa. The Nesospiza bunting species complex (two species on Nightingale Island; one species with three sub-species on Inaccessible Island) represents a rapid adaptive radiation at a small, isolated archipelago, and is thus an excellent model for the study of adaptation and speciation. In this first study of MHC in Nesospiza buntings, we aim to characterize MHCIIß variation, determine the strength of selection acting at this gene

SUBMITTER: van Rensburg AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3483275 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature