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Major histocompatibility complex and mate choice in sand lizards
Mats Olsson1, Thomas Madsen, Jessica Nordby
1Department of Zoology, The University of Göteborg, Division of Animal Ecology, Box 463, SE 413 90 Göteborg, Sweden. mats.olsson@zool.gu.se
Abstract:
In mice and man, females prefer males with a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genotype different to their own. We tested whether this phenomenon also occurs in the Swedish sand lizard (Lacerta agilis). Females in a laboratory experiment preferred to associate with odour samples obtained from more distantly related males at the MHC class 1 loci. Data on free-ranging lizards suggest that associations between males and females are nonrandom with respect to MHC genotype. However, male spatial distribution and mobility during the mating season suggest that the non-random pairing process in the wild may also be driven by corresponding genetic benefits to males pairing with less related females.
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