Reduced bonobo MHC class I diversity predicts a reduced viral peptide binding ability compared to chimpanzees.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The highly polymorphic genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I are involved in defense against viruses and other intracellular pathogens. Although several studies found reduced MHC class I diversity in bonobos in comparison to the closely related chimpanzee, it is unclear if this lower diversity also influences the functional ability of MHC class I molecules in bonobos. Here, we use a bioinformatic approach to analyze the viral peptide binding ability of all published bonobo MHC class I molecules (n = 58) in comparison to all published chimpanzee MHC class I molecules (n = 161) for the class I loci A, B, C and A-like.

Results

We examined the peptide binding ability of all 219 different MHC class I molecules to 5,788,712 peptides derived from 14

SUBMITTER: Maibach V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6327438 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature