Balancing selection, genetic drift, and human-mediated introgression interplay to shape MHC (functional) diversity in Mediterranean brown trout.

ABSTRACT: The extraordinary polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes is considered a paradigm of pathogen-mediated balancing selection, although empirical evidence is still scarce. Furthermore, the relative contribution of balancing selection to shape MHC population structure and diversity, compared to that of neutral forces, as well as its interaction with other evolutionary processes such as hybridization, remains largely unclear. To investigate these issues, we analyzed adaptive (MHC-DAB gene) and neutral (11 microsatellite loci) variation in 156 brown trout (Salmo trutta complex) from six wild populations in central Italy exposed to introgression from domestic hatchery lineages (assessed with the LDH gene). MHC diversity and structuring correlated with those at microsa

SUBMITTER: Talarico L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8328470 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature