Characterization of the ABO blood group genes in macaques: evidence for convergent evolution

Abstract

The ABO blood group system is known to act as a major transplantation barrier in primates. Different primate species share the presence of A and B antigens. The polymorphism of the macaque ABO blood group genes was analyzed by cloning and sequencing the exon 7 region. In the case of the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatto) and cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) we were able to identify ABO blood group gene segments which cluster into two lineages, namely: *A/*O1 and *B. In addition allelic variation was observed. The 2 amino acid replacements at positions 266 and 268, which are thought to be crucial for A or B transferase activity, could be confirmed for both macaque species. Comparison of primate sequences shows that A and B reactivity was generated independently from each other in the hominoids and Old World monkey lineages. Hence, the primate A and B blood group genes are subject to convergent evolution.

The ABO blood group is a trans-species polymorphism in primates

“…1). For the A allele, we further observed that, compared with hominoids, colobus and vervet monkeys use a different codon to encode the same amino acid at one of the two functional positions, as was previously noted for macaques (24) and baboons (27) (Fig. 1).…”

“…Remarkably, the A, B, and H antigens exist not only in humans but in many other primates (reviewed in ref. 22), and the same two amino acids are responsible for A and B enzymatic specificity in all sequenced species (8,18,(23)(24)(25). Thus, primates not only share their ABO blood group, but also the same genetic basis for the A/B polymorphism.…”

ABO blood group phenotype frequency estimation using molecular phenotyping in rhesus and cynomolgus macaques

“…While Premasuthan et al’s [2011 [2012] conclusions regarding phenotype frequencies were based on more animals than previous reports [Doxiadis et al, 1998; Malaivijitnond et al, 2008; Nakajima and Ogushi, 1965; Terao et al, 1983], an even larger sampling of rhesus and cynomolgus macaques is needed to confirm the accuracy of the phenotype frequency estimates reported in their studies. To characterize the frequency distribution of A, B and AB phenotypes in cynomolgus and rhesus macaques, this study analyzed the phenotypic data from 2369 animals.…”

“…2016]. The functional mutations responsible for the macaque O phenotype, if it in fact exists, have yet to be identified [Doxiadis et al, 1998; Kermarrec et al, 1999; Yamamoto et al, 1990; Premasuthan et al, 2011; Premasuthan et al, 2012]. …”

Evaluation of the Gel System for ABO Typing of Monkeys

“…近似于人类，灵长类动物也有 ABO 血型系统。 但和人类及少部分灵长类动物(如类人猿)不同， 绝大部分灵长类动物(如猕猴、食蟹猴、狒狒等) 的外周血红细胞上并不表达 AB 抗原，或是非常弱 (Doxiadis et al, 1998) ，而在腺体、上皮、血管内 皮系统和其他组织内均有广泛的 A 或/和 B 抗原表 达 (Oriol et al,1984;Socha et al,1987;Oriol et al,1993;Rydberg et al, 2001) ，循环系统中也有抗 A 或/和抗 B 抗体的存在。这些血型抗体与移植器官上表达的 AB 抗原结合同样可以造成类似于人类 ABO 血型不 合的同种异体器官移植排斥反应 (Oriol et al, 1984;Socha et al,1987;Cooper et al,1989) 。故准确的检测 灵长类动物类人 ABO 血型，对于某些相关科研领 域极为重要，对更加全面的了解灵长类动物的血型 系统特点也有重要的意义。 由于灵长类动物的 ABO 血型抗原并不表达在 外周血红细胞上，所以其血型鉴定一直较难。鉴定 灵长类动物血型的常用方法一般是传统试管法抗 球蛋白试验(tube anti-globulin technique , TAT)和毛 果云香碱用药后唾液的 AB 抗原鉴定 (Cooper et al,1989;Moor et al,1964 (Li et al,1999;Titlestd et al, 1997;Langston et al,1999;Cate et al,1999 …”