Not all birds have a single dominantly expressed MHC-I gene : Transcription suggests that siskins have many highly expressed MHC-I genes
(2019) In Scientific Reports 9(1).- Abstract
Passerine birds belong to the most species rich bird order and are found in a wide range of habitats. The extremely polymorphic adaptive immune system of passerines, identified through their major histocompatibility complex class I genes (MHC-I), may explain some of this extreme radiation. Recent work has shown that passerines have higher numbers of MHC-I gene copies than other birds, but little is currently known about expression and function of these gene copies. Non-passerine birds have a single highly expressed MHC-I gene copy, a pattern that seems unlikely in passerines. We used high-throughput sequencing to study MHC-I alleles in siskins (Spinus spinus) and determined gene expression, phylogenetic relationships and sequence... (More)
Passerine birds belong to the most species rich bird order and are found in a wide range of habitats. The extremely polymorphic adaptive immune system of passerines, identified through their major histocompatibility complex class I genes (MHC-I), may explain some of this extreme radiation. Recent work has shown that passerines have higher numbers of MHC-I gene copies than other birds, but little is currently known about expression and function of these gene copies. Non-passerine birds have a single highly expressed MHC-I gene copy, a pattern that seems unlikely in passerines. We used high-throughput sequencing to study MHC-I alleles in siskins (Spinus spinus) and determined gene expression, phylogenetic relationships and sequence divergence. We verified between six and 16 MHC-I alleles per individual and 97% of these were expressed. Strikingly, up to five alleles per individual had high expression. Out of 88 alleles 18 were putatively non-classical with low sequence divergence and expression, and found in a single phylogenetic cluster. The remaining 70 alleles were classical, with high sequence divergence and variable degrees of expression. Our results contradict the suggestion that birds only have a single dominantly expressed MHC-I gene by demonstrating several highly expressed MHC-I gene copies in a passerine.
(Less)
- author
- Drews, Anna LU and Westerdahl, Helena LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2019
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Scientific Reports
- volume
- 9
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 19506
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:31862923
- scopus:85076890486
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41598-019-55800-9
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 75f400cf-6fc7-4303-8bfd-c8df8c124989
- date added to LUP
- 2020-01-07 14:03:12
- date last changed
- 2024-09-18 16:30:51
@article{75f400cf-6fc7-4303-8bfd-c8df8c124989,
abstract = {{<p>Passerine birds belong to the most species rich bird order and are found in a wide range of habitats. The extremely polymorphic adaptive immune system of passerines, identified through their major histocompatibility complex class I genes (MHC-I), may explain some of this extreme radiation. Recent work has shown that passerines have higher numbers of MHC-I gene copies than other birds, but little is currently known about expression and function of these gene copies. Non-passerine birds have a single highly expressed MHC-I gene copy, a pattern that seems unlikely in passerines. We used high-throughput sequencing to study MHC-I alleles in siskins (Spinus spinus) and determined gene expression, phylogenetic relationships and sequence divergence. We verified between six and 16 MHC-I alleles per individual and 97% of these were expressed. Strikingly, up to five alleles per individual had high expression. Out of 88 alleles 18 were putatively non-classical with low sequence divergence and expression, and found in a single phylogenetic cluster. The remaining 70 alleles were classical, with high sequence divergence and variable degrees of expression. Our results contradict the suggestion that birds only have a single dominantly expressed MHC-I gene by demonstrating several highly expressed MHC-I gene copies in a passerine.</p>}},
author = {{Drews, Anna and Westerdahl, Helena}},
issn = {{2045-2322}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
series = {{Scientific Reports}},
title = {{Not all birds have a single dominantly expressed MHC-I gene : Transcription suggests that siskins have many highly expressed MHC-I genes}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55800-9}},
doi = {{10.1038/s41598-019-55800-9}},
volume = {{9}},
year = {{2019}},
}