Metazoan parasites and balancing selection at MHC class IIB genes in the wild populations of freshwater cyprinid fish (Leuciscus cephalus)
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| Year of publication | 2009 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are highly polymorphic. The high level of nucleotide and allelic diversity is maintained by balancing or parasite driven selection. In this study, we investigated the metazoan parasite load and MHC diversity in fifteen chub (Leuciscus cephalus) populations in Europe. The exon 2 of DAB genes (MHC class IIB) was selected for sequence analysis considering that this part of DAB genes encodes the major parts of the PBR (peptide binding regions) as the most polymorphic parts in many class II genes. Likewise, twelve microsatellite loci were studied to elucidate the role of neutral evolutionary processes on MHC variability. Spearman correlation analysis revealed an influence of geographic distance and genetic distance on similarity between metazoan parasite communities. Within individual fish the highest mean variability in parasite abundance and mean species parasite richness were associated with the maximal number of alleles. |
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