Cheetah paradigm revisited: MHC diversity in the world's largest free-ranging population.

ABSTRACT: For more than two decades, the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) has been considered a paradigm of disease vulnerability associated with low genetic diversity, particularly at the immune genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Cheetahs have been used as a classic example in numerous conservation genetics textbooks as well as in many related scientific publications. However, earlier studies used methods with low resolution to quantify MHC diversity and/or small sample sizes. Furthermore, high disease susceptibility was reported only for captive cheetahs, whereas free-ranging cheetahs show no signs of infectious diseases and a good general health status. We examined whether the diversity at MHC class I and class II-DRB loci in 149 Namibian cheetahs was higher than previously reported u

SUBMITTER: Castro-Prieto A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7187558 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature