Polymorphisms at MHC class II DRB1 exon 2 locus in Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica)
Serena Cavallero1, Ignasi Marco, Santiago Lavín
1Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Section of Parasitology, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Chamois (Rupicapra spp.) are mountain ungulates from Southern and Central Europe and the Near East. A newly reported border disease virus (BDV) has affected the easternmost populations of Pyrenean chamois, leading to a dramatic population decrease that may drive to genetic variability loss. The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is a sensitive marker for genetic variation of populations: polymorphism on the MHC genes is affected both by pathogens and population dynamics and it is ecologically relevant, as depending on host-pathogen relationships and life history features. In the present study MHC class II DRB1 exon 2 variation was investigated in 81 Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica) belonging to four populations. Haplotype analysis, population genetics statistics and network analysis were carried out, in order to analyze variability, phylogeography and genealogy, and the effects of geography and demographic trend. Twenty-nine haplotypes were identified, 26 of them newly described, with high Gene diversity (Gd). The variability observed in the easternmost populations of Pyrenean chamois showed a higher genetic diversity than that previously reported for other populations of Pyrenean and Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva). The most frequent allele was RupyDRB*15, previously undetected, which seems to play a significant role in genotyping the variability, suggesting a possible effect of positive selection.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Epistasis
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase
Epistasis Analysis
Comparing Copy Number Variations and SNPs
Copy number variations or CNVs are the structural variations that cover more than 1kb of DNA sequence. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), on the other hand, is a single nucleotide change or a point mutation that is found in more than 1%...


