Spatially variable coevolution between a haemosporidian parasite and the MHC of a widely distributed passerine.

ABSTRACT: The environment shapes host-parasite interactions, but how environmental variation affects the diversity and composition of parasite-defense genes of hosts is unresolved. In vertebrates, the highly variable major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene family plays an essential role in the adaptive immune system by recognizing pathogen infection and initiating the cellular immune response. Investigating MHC-parasite associations across heterogeneous landscapes may elucidate the role of spatially fluctuating selection in the maintenance of high levels of genetic variation at the MHC. We studied patterns of association between an avian haemosporidian blood parasite and the MHC of rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) that inhabit environments with widely varying haemosporidian infect

SUBMITTER: Jones MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4364819 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature