Allelic diversity and patterns of selection at the major histocompatibility complex class I and II loci in a threatened shorebird, the Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Understanding the structure and variability of adaptive loci such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes is a primary research goal for evolutionary and conservation genetics. Typically, classical MHC genes show high polymorphism and are under strong balancing selection, as their products trigger the adaptive immune response in vertebrates. Here, we assess the allelic diversity and patterns of selection for MHC class I and class II loci in a threatened shorebird with highly flexible mating and parental care behaviour, the Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) across its broad geographic range.

Results

We determined the allelic and nucleotide diversity for MHC class I and class II genes using samples of 250 individuals from eight breeding population of Sno

SUBMITTER: Cruz-Lopez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7488298 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature