[Relationships among immune traits and MHC B-LBII genetic variation in three chicken breeds]

We have assessed the relationships between immune trait (antibody titers of Sheep red blood cell, SRBC; Avian influenza, AI; Newcastle disease, ND) and varieties of MHC B-LBHII Gene in local chicken breeds (Wenshang Barred chicken, LH; Laiwu Black chicken, LWH; and Jining Bairi chicken, BR). We selected 300 chickens randomly from the three indigenous chicken populations. The variations of MHC B-L BII gene were detected by directly DNA sequencing and polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP). The results indicated that there were about 19-22 nucleotide mutations in the three local breeds, which could affect 16-18 amino acid variations. Another results indicated that there was significantly relationship between seven to eight SNPs of the MHC B-LBII region and some immune traits (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Both locus G97A and locus T138A were found in the three species, which were significantly related to the antibodies of SRBC, ND and AI antibody titers (P < 0.05). Among them, the locus G97A was significantly associated with ND antibody titers (P < 0.05) in BR chicken, with SRBC antibody titers (P < 0.05) in LWH chicken, and with H9 antibody titers (P < 0.05) in LH chicken. Furthermore, locus T138A was significantly associated with H9 antibody titers in BR and LH chickens (P < 0.05). All those results suggest relationships among the different varieties of MHC B-LBII and immune traits in the three local breeds.