Polymorphism and signature of selection in the MHC class I genes of the 
three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

Schaschl, H.; Wegner, K. M.

doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2006.01223.x

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT

Add to Basket

Local TagsRelease HistoryDetailsSummary

Released

Journal Article

Polymorphism and signature of selection in the MHC class I genes of the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus

MPS-Authors

/persons/resource/persons56904

Schaschl, H.
Department Evolutionary Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Society;

/persons/resource/persons56989

Wegner, K. M.
Department Evolutionary Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Society;

External Resource

No external resources are shared

Fulltext (restricted access)

There are currently no full texts shared for your IP range.

Fulltext (public)

There are no public fulltexts stored in PuRe

Supplementary Material (public)

There is no public supplementary material available

Citation

Schaschl, H., & Wegner, K. M. (2006). Polymorphism and signature of selection in the MHC class I genes of the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus. Journal of Fish Biology, 89(Suppl. B), 177-188. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2006.01223.x.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-000F-D825-E

Abstract

The role and intensity of positive selection maintaining the polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes in the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeams was investigated. The highly polymorphic set of MHC class I genes found was organized in a single linkage group. Between 5 and 14 sequence variants per individual were identified by single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. Segregation analysis studied in 10 three-spined stickleback families followed the expected pattern of Mendelian inheritance. The gamete fusion in three-spined stickleback thus seems to be random with respect to the MHC class I genes. The DNA sequence analyses showed that the expressed MHC class I loci are under strong selection pressure, possibly mediated by parasites. Codons that were revealed to be under positive selection are potentially important in antigen binding. MHC class I sequences did not form significant supported clusters within a phylogenetic tree. Analogous to MHC class II genes, it was not possible to assign the class I sequences to a specific locus, suggesting that the class I genes may have been generated by recent gene duplication.